Shadowchasers: Hidden World
by Kitten Knight
Summary: Set in the Shadowchasers Universe created by Cyber Commander. A storm is brewing in the city of Sydney, and its up to the Sydney Shadowchasers to stop it. But when skeletons in the closet begin to emerge, a seemingly straightforward case becomes a nightmare that pushes the team to its limit.
1. Round 01 - Evolution Burst

**Kitten Knight**: Hello fanfiction readers! A few of you might know who I am, and a lot of you won't, but I am Kitten Knight (because the bold text says so), but you can call me KK.

And I welcome you to Shadowchasers: Hidden World. Now if you've never read a Shadowchasers story before, I suggest that you read the original Shadowchasers by Cyber Commander before you read on.

Before we begin I would like to point out that I do not Yu-Gi-Oh (or GX, 5D's, ZeXal or Arc-V), which belongs to Kazuki Takahashi. Nor do I own the Shadowchasers concept and ideas, which belong to Cyber Commander – who I'd like to thank for giving me permission to add to his universe.

Like other Shadowchasers stories, duels featured will use the TCG rules (the current rules, so the first turn player can still draw, and there can still only be one Field Spell active at a time – just made it people!). And will follow the (shudders) the March 2014 Lists (R.I.P. Morphing Jar), and will stick to it until the very end. As for cards, I will use the TCG names, and any OCG/anime/manga exclusive or original cards will be explained and referenced at the end of the chapter.

As for location, I give you Sydney, Australia. Now I'm not an 'expert' on Sydney, so the glimpse you'll get is what I can muster from memory, research and Google Maps. As for the position on the Shadowchasers timeline, this story takes place a few months after Ascension.

Well, I think that's everything.

Let's see if I sink or swim.

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**Shadowchasers: Hidden World**

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**Round 01: Evolution Burst**

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**Welcome to a land down under!**

**Some say that this is the most dangerous place to live earth and you****'****d have to be crazy to live here, jokingly of course.**

**But they still have a point, this country has some of the deadliest creatures on the planet: The Sydney Funnel-Web spider has some of the most toxic spider venom in the world and very large fangs to inject it with; crocodiles will prey upon people who are foolish enough to enter the areas where they lurk; the toxins of the blue-ringed octopus can paralyse every muscle in the human body - including the heart and lungs.**

**Sounds like the things of nightmares right? And that****'****s not even getting into some of the locals****… **

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The city of Sydney, Australia.

The early morning sun glistened down on the Port Jackson bay and the surrounding city, giving off a beautiful shine that captivated residents and tourists alike every day.

But that's not important right now…

What was important was a small café located in the Botanical Garden, just to the east of the city CBD.

A middle aged man sat at a small, round table outside the café, a newspaper unfolded out in front of him. Oblivious to the buzz of patrons and employees during the morning rush.

The man was sharply dressed in a black business suit, with a striped blue tie tucked neatly under his jacket and a black bowler hat sat atop his head, trying – and failing – to cover the fact that he was completely bald.

The bald man then set the newspaper down on the table and picked up a white mug that was sitting on the table, steam pouring out over the brim.

"Refreshing as always," the man happily smiled, revealing a set of sharp teeth.

The man sipped the scorching coffee once more, before placing the cup back down on the table.

The man picked the newspaper back and resumed reading.

"Hmmm, seems that my favourite stall at the market is having a sale," the man gleefully smiled, flashing his sharp teeth once again. "I can taste the salmon, trout, prawns…"

Drops of saliva dripped from the corners of his mouth.

As the bald man was salivating behind the newspaper, a blonde-haired woman approached the man.

The woman looked to be in her early twenties, her attire was rather casual, a rather tight-fitting blue shirt and a pair of black shorts – much like a jogger would normally wear. A leather handbag was slung over the woman's shoulder, and a pair of sunglasses shielded her eyes from the morning sun.

The woman casually stopped at the man's table. Setting her leather bag down on the aluminium tabletop, she managed to force a smile onto her face.

"Excuse me?"

No reply, unless you counted the sound of a tongue flicking around someone's lips a reply.

"Excuse me?"

This time the man reacted, dropping the paper down so that his eyes locked with the woman's gaze.

"Hello," the man asked, "can I help you with something?"

The woman slid around the table, so that she was standing over the sitting man. "Well I'm kind of…"

"I'm not interested lady. And besides, I'm not the kind of person you'd like to fraternize with."

The woman let out a laugh that was painfully fake, as she fidgeted uncomfortably with her fingers. "Oh, you think I'm coming on to you! I'm so sorry, I… I just wanted to ask for directions."

The man leaned slightly away from the woman as he narrowed his gaze. "Very well, I'm familiar with this area. Where do you want to go?"

"Um…" the woman stuttered, as if trying to draw out the conversation.

"Well no wonder you're lost," the man sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Hold on, it's on the tip of my tongue… The Opera House! I kind of made a wrong turn," the woman sheepishly admitted.

"Well," answered the man, turning around in his seat, "If you just…"

But the blonde-haired woman didn't listen to the bald man's instructions, instead she immediately turned her attention to the mug off coffee on the table.

Quickly glancing to her left and right, the woman moved her hand over the mug, dropping a small red pill into the liquid.

The pill quickly dissolved in the scorching coffee, the woman plucked her hand away from the mug and back to her side.

The man turned back around, oblivious to the woman's actions. "Did you get that?" he asked.

The woman was hesitant with her reply, clearly she wasn't entirely focused. "Yes," she answered, "Thank you…"

"Waylon," the bald man nodded.

"Thank you Waylon," the woman nodded, forcing another smile, before she turned around and walked off.

Waylon picked up the newspaper once more and resumed reading, but out of the corner of his eye he noticed one thing.

The woman was heading in a completely different direction than the one he had pointed her in.

"Tourists, they get dumber every year."

Waylon sighed as he lowered the newspaper, reaching over it to grasp his coffee mug.

The man lifted the mug to his lips, closing his eyes as he downed the scorching liquid.

Almost immediately the man's eyes flicked back open, but the sclera of his eyes were now green and his pupils wild black slits.

After emptying the cup, Waylon smashed it back down on the smashing it to pieces. His face grew wild and animalistic, his nose and jaws slowly extended into a toothy snout, and his skin began to darken, with small patches of scales erupting over his skin.

Waylon violently leapt up, knocking over both the table and chair, gaining the attention of café customers and staff.

"Sir! Sir!" called a male employee as he approached the 'man', "please, calm down."

But Waylon wouldn't have any of that; with a single push he shoved the employee back, sending him toppling over another table.

"Somebody call the police!" a customer shouted.

But this was an incident that the regular police would not be able to handle.

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Off in the distance, obscuring herself behind a few bushes, a familiar blonde haired woman watched the ensuing chaos at the café.

"I need a better look," the woman commented, feeling around in her handbag and eventually pulling a small pair of binoculars.

The woman held the binoculars to her eyes, as smirked as she watched Waylon charge inside the café.

"Come on Shadowchaser, take the bait."

The woman dropped the binoculars when her handbag began to vibrate.

Behind her sunglasses, the woman's eyes rolled as she dipped her hand into her handbag, producing a small handheld flip-phone - a real piece of ancient technology in this day and age.

Flipping the phone open and pressing the 'answer' button, the woman impatiently answered "What?"

"Uhh… did the substance work?" a male voice asked over the phone.

"Yes it worked," the woman bluntly replied.

"Right, just keep an eye out for any potential aftereffects, and make sure to jot them down so you don't forget."

"Sure I will," the woman replied, rolling her eyes behind her sunglasses again. "But first we need to get the second test dummy down here."

The woman threw the phone back into her handbag, and pulled out another primitive phone and immediately began to dial in a number.

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Meanwhile, elsewhere in the city.

Inside a modestly-sized two storey townhouse, a lone man was hunched over a table in a dimly lit room. The only light sources being the sunlight that forced its way through the gaps in the thick curtains and the device that the previously mentioned figure was fiercely tapping away at.

The room itself was quite large, being an open planned area that combined the kitchen, dining and living areas.

"Come on, load you stupid machine," the man grumbled, impatiently tapping at the device's screen, the figure's fingers noticeably elongated and beastly, while his skin was rough and had a particular metallic shine to it.

The man was dressed in a black sweatshirt and khaki jeans, his brown hair was short but messy, and noticeably, had a small pair of conical horn's poking out.

Then a voice called out from another room, layered thick with an Irish accent, and a smug tone, "Vern?"

The man grumbled some unmentionable words and set the device down.

"Vern?" the voice called again, now from a much closer location.

The figure stood up, gently pushing the chair back with his leg.

"What is it this time Roscoe? the man grumped, turning around on the spot.

The man's face was quite monstrous in appearance, quite flat and elongated, with his jaw quite exaggerated and teeth sharpened to a point. Two more small, sharp horns poked out of his chin.

The 'man's' ears were long and pointed, but the most off-putting feature was his eyes - which, aside from narrow, black pupils, were an oily brown colour, even the sclera.

Vern, the man in question, was a half-dragon. The result of a relationship between a dragon and another creature, and Vern was the offspring of a brass dragon and a human woman.

The 'man' blinked a few times before letting out a deep sigh.

"Vern, Vern," the voice replied, from much closer now. "I just want a carrot that's all."

Vern looked down to the floor. "I just gave you a carrot ten minutes ago. Do not waste my time, it is very valuable."

"Well I ate it," a white rabbit replied. "And now I want another. And besides, you're only watching lizard videos on the internet, when there's so much more interesting things on there." The rabbit added, giving off a perverted grin.

Vern didn't seem to mind his partner in the conversation, but then again, most brass dragons and their offspring didn't really mind who - or what - they talked to, sentient, insentient or even inanimate.

"Well that's just too bad," Vern answered, flooding his arms, "You're already supposed to be a diet."

The talking rabbit propped itself up on its hind legs and pointed it's long ears straight up. "Oi, are you calling me fat?"

The half-dragon sighed and rolled his eyes, before bending over to grab the rabbit's ears, hoisting him up to eye level.

"Glorified trumpet," Roscoe cursed, swatting his paws around in attempt to free himself.

"You know," Vern snarled, flashing his sharp teeth. "Have I ever told you that my father and I used to hunt rabbits all the time?"

Roscoe gulped, no longer even bothering to struggle against Vern's grip, he'd heard this story many times, but the lesson never seemed to stick.

"And do you know what we did with those rabbits?"

Roscoe nodded.

"That's right. We ate them," Vern chuckled, snapping his jaw in the open air.

"Don't eat me!" Roscoe squealed, "I don't taste very nice! Trust me, I bit my tongue once and I still cringe at the thought!"

"I'm not going to eat you," Vern smirked, lowering the talking rodent before dropping him a safe distance to the floor. "Not this time…"

Roscoe hit the floor with a thud, before scampering under the table.

"Stupid walking door knob," Roscoe muttered.

"I heard that," Vern scowled.

"Good," Roscoe pouted, "Sometimes I wish I was a large dog or something…"

"Keep dreaming," Vern chuckled. "And besides, what creature could possibly stand up to the spawn of one the mightiest creatures on the planet? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. For I have the genes of the world's mightiest creature in my blood! Why do you think the Shadowchasers just begged me to join?"

"I remember it being the other way around," Roscoe dully replied.

"Hey!" Vern snapped, pointing his finger at Roscoe. "I did nothing of the sort. A magnificent creature such as myself would never beg or cry."

"You are so full of sh…" Roscoe murmured, but the final word was thankfully cut off by a loud beeping noise.

"That would be the phone," Vern noted, making his way to the large screen at the other side of the room.

The half-dragon stood in front of the screen, looking down at the key board with a puzzled look on his face.

Roscoe poked his head out from under the table, "You do know which button to press?" he asked, the smug tone returning to his voice.

"I know exactly what button to press," Vern scoffed, hovering his finger over the keyboard. 'It's this one!"

The half dragon slammed his finger onto a key.

Nothing happened.

"This one," he pressed another key, and still nothing happened.

"The space bar you dope!" Roscoe yelled. "Don't you listen to anything beside your own voice?"

Vern pressed down on the space bar, ignoring Roscoe, and at the same time proving him right.

A black box appeared on the screen, the words 'No Image Available' printed in white inside of it.

"Um… hello?" a female voice asked, "Is this the Sydney Shadowchasers?"

"Yes," Vern replied, his voice sounding more serious than before, "it is. Is there a problem?"

"Well, yes actually. There's a lycanthrope on a rampage at a café in the Botanical Garden."

"You'll have to be a bit more specific than that," Vern requested.

"Oh, it's the café on Mrs Macquaries Road, near the Open Air Cinema."

"Right and what kind of lycanthrope is the criminal?"

A lycanthrope was a type of Shadow, one that assume the form of man, beast or a hybrid of the two. Lycanthropes could be divided into two sub-types, true and infected.

An infected lycanthrope was the type had Hollywood and pop-culture had popularised. A human that has been injured by a lycanthrope has a chance of catching the curse. The curse involuntarily turning them a beast, their transformations depended on the phases of the moon - the fuller the moon, the more likely a transformation occurs.

True lycanthropes are very different, they are not cursed, in fact lycanthropy was hereditary and transformation began at puberty (and one _hell _of a puberty at that). Most lycanthropes were able to control their transformations, but very rarely their savage, beastly side took control.

"Umm, it was a were-crocodile."

Vern's eyes lit up, as much as oily brown could. "Could you be a bit more specific than that? Like what species of crocodile? Freshwater? Saltwater? Maybe even a south Asian species."

The voice was silent for a few seconds. "Umm… I'm not sure."

"Damn," Vern cursed.

"Can you just get over here?" the voice asked. "People might get hurt."

"Right," Vern nodded, "I'll be on my way immediately."

Vern turned around and quickly headed for the door, grabbing a crimson red leather jacket that hung on coat stand near the door.

"Roscoe, watch the house until I get back," the Shadowchaser ordered as he headed out the door and into the hallway.

"Sure I will," Roscoe sarcastically replied.

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A light flickered on in the town house's garage, revealing the room to be cluttered with tools, cans and spare D-Wheel parts.

But in one section of the room, stood a standard model D-Wheel, red in colour and with two brass pyramids shoddily welded on the plate over the front wheel. A green duffle bag carefully balanced on the seat, the hilt of a sword sticking out the .

Vern stepped into the room, grabbing a red helmet from a hook on the wall. The Shadowchaser then violently shook the helmet, before checking the inside.

"Nope, no spiders," Vern smiled, as he pulled the helmet (which had been modified to accommodate his horns) over his head.

Hitting a button on the wall, the Shadowchaser marched toward his D-Wheel. The garage door slowly opened, opening up to the street.

Vern grabbed the duffle bag from the D-Wheel's seat and slung it over his shoulder, and hopped onto the D-Wheel.

Under his helmet, Vern smiled as he turned the key (which had been "conveniently" left in the ignition).

The D-Wheel roared to life, the onboard computer screen flicking on.

"And I thought today was going to be boring," Vern joked as he twisted the accelerator, the D-Wheel slowly accelerating out the garage and onto the street.

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Not too much later, as traffic had been light, Vern pulled to a stop in front of a set of old rusty gates surrounded by overgrown shrubs.

"Now, where was I going again?" Vern pondered, trying to recall his destination.

A few seconds passed, as the Shadowchaser's D-Wheel engine continued humming.

"Right. That café near the theatre."

The Shadowchaser twisted the accelerator again, and sped off down the road.

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Not too long after that, Vern pulled his D-Wheel to a stop behind a crowd of people.

The Shadowchaser switched off his D-Wheel and took of his helmet, turning his attention to a building a little further down the road.

"Geez, that place looks like a war zone," Vern noted, seeing the building's broken windows and toppled tables.

Hopping off his D-Wheel, the Shadowchaser reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small golden badge.

"Coming through!" Vern shouted, flashing the badge as he pushed through the crowd. "I'm with the police!"

As Vern forced his way through the crowd, a hand reached out and caught his shoulder.

"Hey," a well built man asked, "I saw that guy, he looked weird, but he looked pretty strong too."

Vern turned to the man, the two locking eyes. "No. I'll be fine by myself."

"Are you sure?" the man hesitantly asked, as he took a step away from the Shadowchaser.

"And besides," Vern added, "my boss would have my head if I let a mundane fight a lycanthrope."

The man, as well as few members of the crowd, raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?" the man asked confused.

A few seconds of silence passed, finally broken by another window in the café being smashed.

"I'd better get going," Vern said slowly, turning back around and jogging toward the café.

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Vern gently pushed open the café door, peeking inside through the gap.

He could see the were-crocodile on the other side of the café, helping itself to the remains of a sandwich bar.

The lycanthrope was quite large and covered in thick, brown scales, black spines ran down his back and to the tip of his tail. Thankfully, the his pants had managed to remain intact (if more than a little ripped), amusingly, so did his tie.

The were-crocodile then flicked its head upward as it swallowed a piece of chicken, its snout narrow and elongated.

"Hmmm," Vern mumbled, "seems to be a freshwater species."

Slowly, Vern pushed the door, cringing when it knocked the bell that hung above it.

The noise caught Waylon's attention, he turned his head to get a look.

Vern gripped the hilt of his sword, slowly drawing it from the duffle bag, sheath and all.

Waylon let out a low growl, flashing his sharp pointed teeth. He then turned back around to the sandwich bar

Vern unsheathed his sword, and pushed the door open.

Stepping into the café, Vern pointed his sword at the lycanthrope. "Oi, you overgrown lizard."

This caught Waylon's attention, the were-crocodile turning around. "I though I smelt something funny, oily if my nose is correct."

"I don't smell like oil," Vern retorted, pointing his sword at the were-beast.

"I bet you taste like a saxophone too," Waylon smugly added.

"I do not! How dare you accuse such a magnificent creature of tasting so foul. Do not compare me to a musical instrument!"

Waylon narrowed his gaze, "So I'm guessing by the sword and the mark on your face that your a Shadowchaser."

"That's right," Vern nodded, pointing out the mark on his face with his free hand.

"I can see that," Waylon replied with a toothy grin, "It really contrasts with your skin's shine."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"It wasn't."

The two men glared at each other.

"So how do you want to do this?" Vern asked, "The easy way, or the hard way?"

"What do you think?" said Waylon, reaching behind his back. "I call for the fair fight clause!" The were-crocodile produced a green D-Gazer and a duel disk.

Vern stood in stunned silence, "Where did that thing come from?"

Waylon fixed the D-Gazer to his head, and the duel disk to his arm. "Shouldn't you be doing something other than asking questions?"

"Right," said Vern dropping his sword to the floor. The Shadowchaser the reached into the duffle bag and pulled out a red lensed D-Gazer and duel disk.

"You know, I always wanted to see a were-crocodile up close before," said Vern, fixing the D-Gazer to his head, and the duel disk to his arm.

"You're just lucky I'm in a sensible mood, Shadowchaser," Waylon grinned, "or you'd be getting a little too close for comfort."

"Duel!" both the Shadowchaser and lycanthrope shouted, as the AR field projected itself over the area.

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"Oh come on!" the blond haired mystery woman cursed. "Not five minutes ago he was on a rampage , now he's playing that stupid children's card game!"

"Hey!" the voice over the phone shouted, "It's for ages six and up!"

"Didn't I hang up on you?" the woman sighed, taking the still open phone from the bag.

"Uh… apparently not."

"Well what's wrong? Shouldn't our test subject be on a rampage and tear that Shadowchaser limb from limb?"

"Well…" the voice nervously replied, "I could've underestimated the amount of time it would take the subject to burn through the substance, factoring in lycanthrope's advanced healing and…"

"So it's a failure."

"Uhh… It's not a failure, it's an experiment," the voice insisted. "If there's results, then it's a successful experiment that can help perfect the formula."

"Save me the science mumbo-jumbo," the woman replied, snapping the phone shut and tossing it back in her handbag. "I'll just have to hope for the worst to happen."

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"I'll start things off!" Vern declared, snatching a card off his deck, then looking over his six card hand.

"I set one monster and one card face down, then end my turn."

Two face down cards appeared in front of the Shadowchaser.

Waylon breathed heavily as he drew a card. "Not my preferred method of biting… I mean fighting Shadowchaser. But I will cooperate."

The were-crocodile played a card, causing it to appear face up in front of him.

"I activate Water Hazard, and immediately use its effect, allowing me to special summon a water monster from my hand, like my Spear Shark (1600/1400)."

A mighty wave crashed over the field, covering the cafe in waist deep water, several small waves crashing against the café furniture.

Then a red shark leaped out of water, its nose looked like a large pointed spear.

"Sharks?" Vern question, stroking his chin horns with his thumb and index fingers. "Kind of expecting reptiles, alligators if you wanted to get specific."

"Have you tried to make a reptile deck?" Waylon asked.

"Well actually…" vern replied, but Waylon cut him off.

"Shut it, Shadowchaser," Waylon snapped, playing another card. "I summon my Double Shark (1200/1600)!"

Another shark, this one blue in colour, leaped out of the water. Its eyes glowing an eery yellow.

"I'm not afraid of oversized fish," Vern stated, folding his arms in front of his chest.

"That's what the all say," Waylon sniggered, playing another card. "Aqua Jet will raise the attack of my Double Shark, permanently!"

A set of orange jets appeared around Double Shark, fixing themselves under the Shark's fins. (ATK:1200-2200)

"Okay," said Vern, raising an eyebrow, "this might be a problem."

"Spear Shark, if you will,' the were-crocodile ordered.

Spear Shark launched itself forward, stabbing Vern's set monster.

"Oh and by the way, when Spear Shark attacks a defence position monster, it inflicts piercing damage."

Vern's facedown monster revealed itself, a metal shell with several openings around the base, the object shattered moments later and Vern's life points fell to 7600.

"Now Double Shark can attack you directly, twice."

"Hold it!" Vern shouted, as a small flame appeared in front of him. "The monster you destroyed was UFO Turtle (1400/1200), and when it gets destroyed by battle, I can special summon a weak fire monster from my deck in attack position."

The flame grew into a fireball, which quickly died down, leaving a second copy of the large metal shell. Then four green scaly legs stuck out of the openings, followed by a turtle head.

"And what better monster to summon than another UFO Turtle?"

"Anything," Waylon grumpily replied, as he motioned for Double Shark to attack.

The blue shark raced forward, aided by the jets attached to it, biting straight through UFO Turtle's shell and shattering it into millions of pixels, and dropping Vern's to 6800 life points.

Another flame appeared in front of Vern, and a third extraterrestrial turtle appeared in front of the Shadowchaser.

"Hide behind all the turtles you want, Shadowchaser," Waylon snorted, "but you can't hide from the ultimate predator!"

Double Shark rolled itself over, revealing another pair of glowing eyes on its underside.

The blue shark charged at Vern's final turtle, biting through its hull and shattering it too. The force of the attack also sent Vern toppling over and into the virtual water as his life points dropped to 6000.

Vern's head burst back out of the water. "Damn… it," he swore in between gasps, "A quarter of my life points gone already?"

"Be thankful it wasn't any more Shadowchaser."

"Yeah," Vern replied, standing back up, "Well I'll use my final UFO Turtle's effect to summon Evoltile Najasho (100/2000)!"

A small snake slithered along the water, a tiny set of wings sprung out halfway down its body, the snake also had a small pair of legs near the end of its body.

"What the hell is that?" Waylon demanded. "Last time I checked, snakes didn't have legs, or wings!"

"It's a najash," Vern answered, with a noticeably excited tone, "Well, the creature is based on a najash, an ancient reptile from the late cretaceous period. It's actually quite an unusual species, as it retains well developed hind legs and a pelvis…"

"This is a duel not a history lesson," Waylon snorted, flaring his nostrils. "I set one card face down and end my turn."

A face down card appeared behind Waylon's sharks.

"Well if you insist on getting back to the action," Vern replied, drawing a card. "First, I'll activate my set card, Jar of Greed."

The Trap Card depicting a smiling red jar flipped up, as the half-dragon drew another card, then played another card.

Immediately a wind kicked up, as a small tornado tore from Vern's side of the field over to Waylon's, shredding his set card to pieces.

"Mystical Space Typhoon, never leave home without it."

"Big deal," Waylon grunted, "nothing you have can stand up to my sharks!"

"That's what you think," Vern shot back, as Evoltile Najasho disappeared in a trail of golden sparkles.

And in it's place appeared a large theropod, covered in small green scales with thick, heavy black scales along its back. A small set of wings stuck out of the creature spine, while its tail resembled a long double-helix DNA strand.

"Meet Evolsaur Terias (2400/600)," Vern declared, as Terias roared, "and he's not going in alone."

A second dinosaur appeared, clearly based on a Ceratosaurus. Its scales were an orange colour, and like Terias, thick black scales covered its back, and a small set of wings stuck out from the dinosaur's spine.

"And this my scaly friend is Evolsaur Cerato (1900/1400), and when he's summoned by the effect of an Evoltile, he gains a little boost."

Cerato roared as a red aura appeared around it. (ATK:1900-2100)

"Now," Vern smiled, "let's find out who really is the ultimate predator!"

Waylon lowered his snout and glared at the opposing Shadowchaser. "Bring it, Shadowchaser."

"If you insist," Vern nodded, motioning for his monsters to attack.

Both dinosaurs raced forward, barely impeded by the water.

Terias chomped its jaws down around Double Shark, shattering it between its sharp teeth. Waylon's life points took a small drop to 7800.

Meanwhile, Cerato crashed head first into Spear Shark, sending it reeling back until it shattered in midair, further dropping Waylon's life points to 7300.

A card stuck out of Vern's deck, which he immediately grabbed and added to his hand. "And if Cerato was special summoned by an Evoltile's effect, every time it defeats one of your monsters in battle I can add an Evoltile from deck to my hand, like my Evoltile Westlo."

"More prey for us to feed on," Waylon grinned, showing his teeth.

"Who's this us? You have only one card in your hand and your Spell Card on the field," Vern noted, slipping two cards from his hand into his duel disk. "I set two cards face down and end my turn."

Silently, Waylon drew a card, then threw it face down onto his duel disk.

A face down monster appeared in front of Waylon, hovering just under the water's surface.

"Nothing to play?" Vern smugly asked, drawing a card.

"Shut it Shadowchaser," Waylon spat.

"Suit yourself, or should I say make a pair of boots out yourself…"

A few seconds of awkward silence passed.

"That was an awful, awful joke," Waylon flatly replied.

A large sweat drop rolled down Vern's forehead. "I apologise… That really was a terrible joke."

A few more moments passed, Waylon narrowed his gaze toward the Shadowchaser.

"Cerato, attack his face down monster."

Evolsaur Cerato roared and rushed forward, head butting the were-crocodile hidden monster.

A small blue dolphin was sent flying from the attack, crashing into the café wall with swirls in its eyes. The porpoise slid down the wall a short distance before it shattered.

"And now Cerato's effect adds my Evoltile Lagosucho from my deck to my hand."

A card slipped out of the Shadowchaser's deck, which he added to his hand.

"You're not the only one with a monster ability," Waylon announced, taking the top card off his deck. "When you destroy my Imiaruka (1000/1000), I can send the top card of my deck to the graveyard."

The were-crocodile turned the card around, showing it to Vern. "Frilled Rabca," he noted.

Waylon slipped the card into his graveyard. "And furthermore, should the sent card be a water monster, I'm allowed to draw an additional card."

Waylon yanked another card from his deck.

"Draw all the cards you want," Vern smirked, "they won't protect you, especially not from Terias' attack."

Terias roared, then charged at the lycanthrope.

But Waylon stared down the charging theropod, and with one solid punch right to the muzzle, sent the dinosaur recoiling back to Vern's side of the field. Waylon's life points on the other hand, plummeted to 4900.

Vern stood silently, his mouth and eyes wide open in shock.

Slowly, Vern grabbed two cards from his hand and set them on his duel disk, leaving him with a hand of three. "I… I set a… a monster and a card face… face down, and end my turn.

Under the water, two set cards appeared among Vern's field.

"Stunned Shadowchaser?" Waylon asked, smugly folding his scaly arms.

"You just punched a virtual dinosaur in the face," Vern flatly replied.

"Solid vision technology is improving everyday, Shadowchaser," Waylon explained, "I've read news reports about 'giving solid vision mass', whatever that may be."

"That still doesn't explain what just happened," Vern pointed out.

"Whatever," Waylon growled, drawing a card.

The were-crocodile turned a card around in his hand. "I activate Salavge, allowing me to add Double Shark and Imiaruka back to my hand."

Two cards stuck out of Waylon's graveyard, the were-croc adding them to his hand.

"Those two monsters won't help you," Vern noted, having regained his composure.

"But they can help get me something that can!" Waylon replied, flipping around another card in his hand. "I activate the Spell Card Moray or Greed, shuffling my Imiaruka and Double Shark back into his deck, and letting me draw three cards."

Waylon's duel disk auto shuffled, and he drew three new cards.

Immediately, Waylon's face warped into a cruel grin.

"Prepare to meet the ultimate predator!"

Vern stepped slightly back, not knowing what to expect.

"I use the effect of my Water Hazard to special summon Unshaven Angler (1500/1600) from my hand!"

Another wave crashed over the field, bringing with it a rather off-putting specimen.

"Ugh," Vern groaned, shielding his strange eyes with his hand, "that thing is hideous!"

The Shadowchaser was right, the 'fish' before him clearly based on an angler fish but with a distorted mouth filled to the brim with long sharp teeth, even the fish's scales were a sickly pale green.

"Unshaven Angler is a special kind of monster," Waylon explained, trying to conceal his malicious glee, "because when it's tributed for the tribute summon of water monster, it counts itself as two monsters!"

The hideous fish glowed, splitting into two identical copies of itself. The two copies then disappeared in a trail of sparkles.

"I tribute my Unshaven Angler, to summon the ultimate predator! Hyper-Ancient Shark Megalodon (2900/1300)!"

The café ceiling creaked and moaned.

"Ummm…" Vern faltered, looking at the ceiling.

Suddenly the ceiling collapsed, littering the water with debris.

But the thing was caught Vern's attention was the fifteen metre long, six metre tall, armour plated shark.

"This can't be good," Vern muttered, as the ancient predator descended onto the field.

"That's right," Waylon smirked, "Not only is the megalodon considered the largest and most powerful predator to ever walk… err… swim on earth! But I'm also powering it up with my Imiiruka!"

Waves kicked up on the surface of the water, splashing against the café furniture. A dolphin even leaped out of the water.

"This Field Spell may lower the defence of all my monsters by four-hundred, but since they gain five-hundred attack I think that's a fair trade!" (Megalodon: 2900-3400/1300-900)

"Crap," Vern muttered, glancing at his three face down cards.

"Megalodon attack!"

The giant shark slowly moved forward, setting its sights on Cerato.

"Not so fast!" Vern ironically stated, as his middle face down flipped up. "I activate my face down card, the Quick-Play Spell card Evo-Miracle. This card prevents my Cerato from being destroyed by battle or card effects this turn."

A blue sphere appeared around Cerato, just in time to save the yellow dinosaur from being crushed between the Megalodon's teeth. Vern's life points dropped to 4700.

"But you still took damage," Waylon smiled, "which means my monster's effect kicks in."

"Effect?" Vern gasped.

"You want to know why my Megalodon was the ultimate predator?" Waylon answered. "It's because when it goes hunting, it takes double the prey!"

Megalodon opened its mouth, and lunged at Terias, crushing the theropod between its massive teeth.

"What?" Vern wondered, checking his life point display. "That wasn't an attack."

"No," Waylon explained, "each time my Megalodon inflicts damage to your life points, it devours another monster you control."

"Crap," Vern cursed, "so even though I protected Cerato, your monster's ability destroyed Terias."

"So now you finally get it, Shadowchaser," Waylon smugly replied. "There's no way can triumph against the ultimate predator."

"Well, we'll just have to see about that."

"I'd like to see you struggle. I end my turn."

"My move," Vern stated, drawing a card.

The Shadowchaser glanced at the card. "Xyz Unit," he whispered.

"Looks like you made a good draw Shadowchaser, but it'll never help you win this duel."

"That is something that I truly doubt," Vern smiled, flipping the set monster on his field. "I'll flip summon my Evoltile Westlo (700/1900)."

Vern's set card flipped up, revealing a small green lizard with spikes running its back.

"And when Westlo gets flipped, he allows me to summon an Evolsaur from my deck, like Evolsaur Diplo (1600/800)."

A red circular portal opened up on the floor, and a large purple diplodocus emerged from it. Spine's ran down the creature's back and a small set of wings stuck out of the its sides.

The diplodocus then lifted one of its forelegs into the air, then slammed it down on the ground. The waves in the water quickly died down, leaving the water calm.

"What just happened, Shadowchaser?" Waylon demanded, flicking his tail.

"When Diplo is summoned by the effect of an Evoltile," Vern explained, "it toasts one of your Spells or Traps, like your Field Spell."

Megalodon groaned as its skin began to dry. (3400-2900/900-1300)

"Doesn't matter," said Waylon, a smug grin on his face, "Nothing you can bring out can beat my shark, we're apex predators baby!"

An apex predator was an organism that was on top of the food chain, usually with very few or no natural predators.

Vern smirked, seeing a flaw in Waylon's boast. "Funny you should bring that up, do you remember what I am?"

"A goody-two shoes Shadowchaser."

"I meant what species," Vern corrected.

Waylon scowled for moment, "half-dragon," he muttered.

"That's right," Vern smiled, "Both humans and dragons are apex predators, meaning that I'm the ultimate Apex predator! I will never let myself become the prey of an inferior species. I am the ultimate evolution!"

Waylon stared blankly at the ranting Shadowchaser, one of his eyes noticeably twitched.

"But let's take it a step back," Vern chuckled, "I construct the overlay network using my level four Evolsaur Cerato and Evolsaur Diplo!"

Both dinosaurs glowed red, before compressing into energy and flying toward the roof of the café.

A portal opened on the café floor, and a large red-eyed, blue tinted dragon rose out of it. The dragon had six wings protruding from its back, and was covered in strange markings. The dragon was shrouded in flames and had a smug look on its face.

Two small red orbs orbited the smug dragon.

"Meet my Evolzar Laggia (2400/2000)! The pinnacle of evolution!"

"Pinnacle of Evolution?" Waylon questioned, "You do realise that dinosaurs became extinct sixty-five million years ago."

"I know, I've been to a museum." Vern

"So in other words they failed as your so called 'pinnacle of evolution'. But do you know how long sharks have roamed the earth?"

"Umm…" Vern stuttered, "no."

"Shark's evolutionary lines can be drawn back by _hundreds _of millions years. _Nothing _has come between and survival, not a meteor, not the cold, not even a giant brain from outer space."

"Wait what was that last one?" Vern asked, obviously not getting the reference.

"It doesn't matter, but dinosaurs are deader than disco, Shadowchaser," mocked Waylon.

"Well my dinosaurs may be gone, but Laggia is getting hungry," Vern took a card from his hand and played it. "I equip my Xyz monster with Xyz Unit, raising its attack by its Rank time two-hundred!"

The dragon's eyes glowed even redder than they did before. (ATK:2400-3200)

"But I'm not done yet," Vern added, playing another card. "I summon Evoltile Lagosucho (1200/500)."

Another lizard appeared, with a yellow underbelly and green scales and spikes running along its back. Like other Evols, it's tail resembled a DNA strand.

"Attack!"

The Evolzar roared, and flew toward the Megalodon.

"Not quite Shadowchaser," Vern chuckled, taking a card from his graveyard, "because when you attack a Fish, Sea Serpent or Aqua type monster, I can banish Frilled Rabca from the graveyard to negate the attack."

A mustard yellow shark appeared, biting down on Laggia's neck. The dragon began to gasp for air as blood ran down it scales.

"It also costs your monster five-hundred attack," Waylon scornfully added.

Laggia dropped to its knees as Frilled Rabca disappeared. (ATK:3200-2700)

"I end my turn," Vern scowled, looking at the remaining cards in his hand: Monster Reincarntaion, Evolsaur Volcano and A Feather of the Phoenix.

"And I begin mine," Waylon smirked, eagerly drawing a card. "First I'll activate the Spell Card Riryoku…"

"Oh no you don't!" Vern yelled, "my Laggia's may be weakened but I can still use its effect."

Laggia roared, as the two Xyz materials floating around it fizzled out.

"At the cost of both its Xyz materials," Vern explained, "I can negate the activation of a Spell or Trap card or negate the summon of a monster!"

The card in Waylon's hand caught fire and burnt to a crisp.

Waylon lowered his head and glared at the Shadowchaser.

Then the were-crocodile began to laugh, "I can't believe you fell for that bluff."

"Bluff?" Vern gasped.

"That's right Shadowchaser!" Waylon laughed, to the point of snorting, "I set up a bluff. So now I summon my Double Fin Shark (1000/1200), and there's nothing you can do about it."

A magenta coloured shark, leaped from the water. The vicious creature dwarfed in size by its ancient relative.

"And when this shark is summoned, he brings back another monster from my graveyard, as long as its a level three or four Water-attribute monster, and Spear Shark fits the bill!"

Spear Shark leaped out of the water, back from the graveyard.

"You think you're the only who can Xyz Summon, Shadowchaser!"

The two smaller sharks glowed blue, before compressing into energy and flew up into the air.

And out of the water, burst a large blue-scaled dragon, with large wings and fangs. Parts of the creatures body glowed bright blue, and two small blue spheres circled the sea dragon.

"Another dragon?" Vern question.

"Well it's a sea-serpent," Waylon admitted, "but Abyss Dweller (1700/1400) grants all water monsters I control an additional five-hundred attack, provided it has an Xyz material that was originally a water monster."

Megalodon and Abyss Dweller gained a blue aura. (Megalodon ATK: 2900-3400) (Abyss Dweller ATK: 1700-2200)

"Aww crap," Vern cursed.

"Megalodon, swallow that weeny lizard," Waylon commanded, pointing a claw at Evoltile Westlo.

Megalodon opened its mouth and moved forward, Westlo didn't even stand a chance. The ancient predator swallowing the green lizard whole and kicking up a large wave that knocked the Shadowchaser down, his life points plummeting to 2000.

"And don't forget Megalodon's effect," Waylon gleefully added, his tail swinging from his to side.

Megalodon moved toward Laggia, crushing the dragon between its jaws. Laggia roared in agony as it shattered into pixels.

Lagosucho screeched at now being the only monster on Vern's field.

"Abyss Dweller, attack."

The blue dragon rushed at its prey, Lagosucho screeched and tried to dive underwater, but Abyss Dweller caught the reptile in its jaws and shattered it between its teeth, dropping Vern's life points to a lowly 1000.

"Only a measly thousand life points, Shadowchaser," Waylon snorted. "Enjoy your final turn."

"I will," Vern replied, an unamused scowl plastered on his face.

But the Shadowchaser's hand trembled as he reached for his deck. "Please, please, please, be the card I need," he muttered.

Vern the pulled the card away from his deck, and slowly peeked at the card.

The scowl immediately turned into a triumphant smile.

"I activate the Spell Card Monster Reincarnation!" Vern declared, discarding the Feather of the Phoenix card.

"Not so fast, Shadowchaser!" Waylon declared, as Abyss Dweller snapped up an orb that floated around it. "I activate the effect of Abyss Dweller, which prevents you from using any card effects in the graveyard this turn."

Vern folded his arms, "Does it now?" the Evoltile Westlo card slipping out of his graveyard. "Sorry, but you seemed to have misinterpreted your own monster's effect. You see, Abyss Dweller only negates card that activate in the graveyard, and Monster Reincarnation was activated on the field."

"Damn it," Waylon cursed, balling his fist, as sweat ran down his brow.

"And it doesn't negate this card either," Vern smirked activating one of his face down cards. "Survival Instinct, by banishing dinosaur monsters from my graveyard, this card increases my life points by four-hundred each."

Evolsaur Cerato, Diplo and Terias slipped out of Vern's graveyard, the Shadowchaser grabbing them and slipping them into his back pocket. A golden aura appeared around Vern as his life points increased to 2200.

"Save up all the life points you want Shadowchaser," Waylon panted, noticeably tired.

"And it doesn't negate this card either." Vern continued, as his other face down card flipped up. "Xyz Reborn."

Slowly, Evolzar Laggia rose from the water, its arms crossed and wings folded, with an angry scowl on its face.

"You… think you can… win with… him alone?" Waylon asked, pausing for air every few words.

"Are you alright?" Vern asked, "You look a little pale, even considering your natural colours."

"I'm fine!" Waylon snapped. "Just attack Abyss Dweller and end your miserable attempt to turn this duel around."

"Humph," said Vern, "If you think I was just trying to protect myself and pad my life points. Then you're wrong." He then flipped around the card he drew, and played it onto his duel disk.

"Since my graveyard contains exactly five Fire-attribute monsters, I can special summon this big guy from my hand!"

Fire erupted over the duelling field, as a metallic sound echoed through the café. The fire then gathered in one mass on Vern's side of the field. Next, a large dinosaur, standing five metres tall, constructed entirely out of gold and black iron, leaped from the fire. The water immediately around it evaporated.

"Meet Pyrorex the Elemental Lord (2800/2200)," said Vern, "this big guy here can only be special summoned by having exactly five Fire monsters in my graveyard."

"So you weren't… just trying to… protect yourself." Waylon grumbled.

"Yeah," Vern grinned, "but that's not the end of it. When Pyrorex is summoned, he blows up one of your monsters."

The iron dinosaur roared, coating itself in flames. The beast the charged forward, tackling Megaldon, melting the ancient predator's flesh with the intense heat. Megalodon groaned in agony before shattering into pixels.

"By the way," Vern calmly added, "the Megalodon is believed to have gone extinct about one and a half million years ago. Oh, and Pyrorex's second effect inflicts half your monster's original attack as damage to the both of us."

The flames around the field intensified, the virtual water began to boil in the heat.

"I can take the heat," Vern bragged, unaffected by the temperature, "but can you?"

Waylon dropped to one knee, gasping for breath. Both duellists life points took a hit; Vern's fell to 750, Waylon's to 3450.

"Stupid… Shadowchaser," Waylon muttered.

"You're only saying that because I'm winning," Vern said cheerily, taking the Evolsaur Vulcano card an playing it.

A blue vulcanodon emerged form a burst of fire, the creature extended it long neck and roared. The creature had a small set of wings on its back as well as a stand of DNA for its tail.

Waylon hissed as he stared at the opposing reptilians.

"That's right," Vern smiled, showing his pointed teeth. "Pyrorex, take out that excuse of dragon."

A mass of flames grew in Pyrorex's mouth, the iron dinosaur then fired a blast from its mouth, incinerating Abyss Dweller. Waylon dropped to both knees as his life points fell to 2850.

"Vulcano attack!"

Evolsaur Vulcano dashed forward, tackling Waylon and sending him skidding back a short distance and his life points fell to 1650

Waylon struggled to his feet, panting heavily as he used his tail for balance.

"Finish it Laggia!"

Laggia loudly roared, as the dragon coated itself in fire. Then charged at Waylon, knocking the were-crocodile onto his back, knocking up a cloud of steam and dust.

Sirens sounded as the were-crocodile's life points reached 0.

The AR field receded, Pyrorex, Laggia and Vulcano disappearing, along with the water from the Water Hazard card. The virtual flames around the café also died down and extinguished themselves.

Immediately, Vern grabbed his sword, expecting the lycanthrope to lunge out of the dust cloud any second.

"Gonna be hard to fight with this thing on my arm," Vern noted, glancing at the duel disk on his arm before looking back at the dust cloud. "Where did all this dust come from anyway? Don't they clean this place very often?"

The dust cloud began to settle, but the situation Vern had been expecting was not occurring.

What Vern saw was Waylon, now in his human form, lying face down on the ground in the tattered remains of his clothes.

Instinctively, Vern took a step forward, then stopped and clutched his sword. "This better not be a trick."

The Shadowchaser dropped his sword and approached the downed lycanthrope. Crouching over the unconscious man, Vern placed two fingers to Waylon's neck feeling for a pulse. Thankfully, the Shadowchaser found one. Vern the immediately reached into his jeans pocket, and pulled out a small blue gem.

Waylon's eyes flicked opened, but they were no longer reptilian.

"Thank you," Waylon smiled, catching Vern's attention.

The Shadowchaser pulled a confused face. "You're welcome. But… just try not to move, we don't know the extent of your injuries."

Vern held the gem up, and it began to glow.

"Don't worry, you'll get medical attention on the other side."

Waylon's body started to become transparent. The gem flashed brightly, and when the light faded Waylon was gone.

Vern pocketed the gem and looked around the trashed café. He then walked over to his sword and duffle bag.

"I'm not cleaning this place up," he sighed, picking up and sheathing his sword then slinging the duffle bag over his shoulder, then headed for the exit.

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"God dammit!" The blonde woman cursed, hurling her set of binoculars to the ground. "Not even a single bite wound! I came to see bloodshed, not a card game!"

The woman's handbag began to vibrate again. The woman sticking her hand into it and fishing out the phone.

"What?" she yelled, flicking open the phone.

"Gah! N… not so loud," the voice complained. "S… so how did the experiment go?"

"The subject is in Shadowchaser custody," the woman replied, "let's hope our little friend can't put two and two together."

"Umm.. and the lycanthropes condition?"

"Oh, he collapsed after he was beaten, reverted to his human form."

"Hmm…" the voice mused, "it could be that the lycanthropes healing burned through the substance, but left the subject completely exhausted."

"I don't care for explanations," the woman scowled, "I just don't want those Shadowchasers breathing down my neck."

The woman rolled her eyes and snapped the phone shut.

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Not long after he apprehended the lycanthrope, Vern had wandered down to the waterside and was now leaning against the safety rail.

The half-dragon sighed, looking out over the bay. The morning sun glistened over the water in the bay, as well as Vern's glossy skin.

But something didn't feel right, lycanthropes than had a 'wild' beast side often lived far away from civilisation, to minimise the risk of injuring others.

Those that could control their beastly side, still often avoided humans due to spreading the curse. But he'd found this lycanthrope in the middle of the most populous city in the country.

"Crocodiles are social creatures," Vern mused, "even if only among their own kind."

Vern slumped over the rail.

"But I guess humans and lycanthropes aren't that different. Aside from the whole lycanthrope thing."

"This still isn't making any sense."

The Shadowchaser turned around and propped himself up, the wind then picked up, blowing petals and leaves across the footpath.

"I need something to get my mind off this."

Vern turned back toward the ocean, only to be smacked in the face by a piece of paper.

"Damn it!" the Shadowchaser cursed, staggering back a few steps before he tore the paper from his face. "Stupid litter."

Vern then scanned the paper, finding it to a poster rather than random rubbish.

"Hmm…" Vern though, rubbing his chin horns with his fingers. "The New South Wales Amateur League finals, today in the Botanical Garden."

Vern continued to stroke his chin horns.

"Hmm, I guess this is worth some attention, after all it is my day off."

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**One thing that is amusing about this country, despite all the dangerous things that could kill you - or inflict enough pain that you****'****d wish you were dead, Australia has one of the highest life expectancies in the world and the number of deaths from bites/stings are surprisingly low.**

**Irony at its finest****…**

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**Card Database**

Double Fin Shark  
Fish/Water/Effect/Level:4/1200  
When this card is Normal Summoned: You can target 1 Level 3 or Level 4 WATER Fish-Type monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon that target in face-up Defence position. Its effects are negated. You cannot Special Summon any other monsters, except WATER monsters, during the turn you activate this effect.

_Double Fin Shark was released in Duelist Pack: Kastle (Kasmishiro) Siblings, which is currently only available in Japan._

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**Kitten Knight: **And so the first chapter of Shadowchasers: Hidden World draws to a close.

Next time, we meet a new character. Will he make a fool of himself, or will he succeed in his goals?

Or will he do both?

Find out in the next chapter, Wind-Up Warrior!


	2. Round 02 - Wind-Up Warrior

**Kitten Knight: **Any resemblance between a character in this chapter and a recently deceased actor/comedian is purely coincidental. We will miss you Robin Williams. Rest in Peace.

Also, I'd like to mention that this story will include several Aboriginal (or Indigenous Australian) myths and legends. I am in no way an expert on the topic, but I will do my best to make sure everything is accurate.

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**Shadowchasers: Hidden World**

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**Round 02: Wind-Up Warrior**

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**Australia these days is a melting pot of different people and cultures. In fact, well before the First Fleet arrived in 1778, several Aboriginal belief systems had already existed for hundreds - if not thousands - of years.**

**While several myths differed greatly from each other, some even completely contradicted with others, one recurring element in Aboriginal mythology was the concept of the Dreamtime.**

**The Dreamtime is considered a place beyond time and space where the past, present and future exist solely as one. It was also believed that the world was created in the Dreamtime, often by Altjira - before it retired to the sky.**

**It was also believed that before humans, animals and plants came into being, their souls existed in the Dreamtime. They knew that one day they would gain physical forms, but had no idea when. But when that day came, all but one of the souls would become plants or animals, with the final soul becoming human, acting as a guardian to the new world around them.**

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It was still early morning in the city, but the Botanical Garden was buzzing with people awaiting the final rounds of the Amateur League. The event was rather large, with the open space of the Garden littered with tents and attractions, food vans, card shops, to even random stalls set up by locals to make a quick profit.

But none could be more anxious and excited than a certain blonde-haired young man, who at this moment was standing amongst a small crowd of people lining up in front of just one of the food stalls.

The youth's attire was definitely strange, a bright orange shirt paired with blue jeans, not to mention the worn sneakers on his feet and his bushy, blonde hair that looked as if it had never seen the tug of hairbrush with a khaki bucket hat sitting atop it. The youth was also quite short, as other customers towered above him.

The youth eagerly rubbed his hands in front of his face, which sported a large smile that only confirmed his eagerness.

"Oh, boy. What to buy? What to buy? A sausage, hamburger, french fries, hot dog, donuts. Who cares? It's all good! What could possibly be better than something that isn't supposed to be good for you?"

The youth eagerly reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a small black wallet. He then opened the sides of the wallet. The contents of the wallet, well the _lack _of contents, caused the youth's smile to instantly switch to a frown.

"Being able to afford it," the youth griped, angrily shoving the empty wallet back into his pocket before stomping off away from the stall.

"I shouldn't have skipped breakfast," the youth moaned, coming across an empty bench.

The youth slumped down on the bench, immediately unclipping a small box from his belt. Opening the box, the youth produced a deck of cards, which he then fanned out in front of himself.

"Well guys," he sighed, "this is it. If we can win the next two duels, we can win enough money for the next few months rent." The youth smiled gleefully, "I can't wait to see Mr. Thompson's face when I pay a rent in _advance _for once."

"Hey there he is!" called a young boy.

The youth looked up to see a group of four boys quickly approaching, looking no older than twelve. The youth quickly placed the cards back in the box and clutched it tight.

"See it really is him!" the young boy cried, "it's Ezekiel Benett."

The youth quivered at the sound of that name, "actually, I prefer Zeke," he corrected.

"Wow so it really is you," the second boy asked, "you're our favourite duellist in the tournament."

"Yeah, just watching you gives me the shivers," the third boy added.

"I loved it when Fire King High Avatar Garunix barbecued you," the first boy laughed.

"My favourite thing was when Machina Fortress ran you over," the second boy added.

"When Blizzard Princess smacked you with her mace, it gave me the shivers," the third boy cheerily added, clasping his hands together as his body shivered.

"Yeah sure," the youth nodded, drawing slightly away from the shivering boy.

"It was hilarious when those Alien monsters…" the fourth boy started to say, but Ezekiel cut him off.

"Uh! Uh! UH!" Ezekiel yelled, putting his hand over the boy's mouth. "Please don't mention that," he shuddered, "it brings back painful memories."

The fourth boy pouted as Ezekiel took his hand away from the boy's mouth.

The first boy then spoke up again, "Ezekiel, we know you'll win this tournament because you're awesome."

Ezekiel smiled and gave the kids a thumbs up. "Yeah that's right! I am awesome!" At that moment, a spark of realisation caused his smile to turn a scowl. "Wait a second," he asked, pointing to the first boy, "what did you call me?"

"Um… Ezekiel," the boy replied.

"Ugh," Ezekiel moaned, "please don't call me by that name. Call me Zeke instead."

"Why?" the second boy asked.

"Because that name is less embarrassing," Ezekiel muttered out of the corner of his mouth.

The four boys all tried to conceal their laughter by turning away from Ezekiel and covering their mouths with their hands.

"I really hate my name," Ezekiel mumbled, as a bead of sweat rolled down his face.

The four boys then turned back around to face Ezekiel. "It doesn't matter what your name is!" said the second boy, "You'll win this tournament for sure!"

"That's right!" Ezekiel cheered, throwing both arms triumphantly into the air, "Because I'm…"

Ezekiel cheer was cut off by a loudspeaker announcement. "Ezekiel Benett, if you do not report to duelling field in the two minutes you will disqualified."

A few precious seconds of silence ticked away, as the announcer's words sank into Ezekiel's mind.

"I'm LATE!" Ezekiel screamed, as he shoved his way past the boys and dashed off down the path, flailing his arms in panic. "Crap! Crap! Crap!"

The fours boys looked on as their idol raced through the crowd.

"That guy is really dumb," one of the kids commented.

"Yeah," the other kids sighed in unison.

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It had been an hour since Vern's encounter with the were-crocodile, but the Shadowchaser still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong…

Even after a few hamburgers.

"Nothing beats barbecued meat," said Vern, between stuffing mouthfuls of bread and meat into his mouth.

"Out of my way people," a voice cried, as a colourful blur raced past the Shadowchaser, almost crashing into him.

"Stupid kids," Vern muttered, craning his head to get a good look at the boy.

Vern twisted his head back around, only to find a large, curved, black beak.

The beak belong to a creature that was covered in feather and clothed in only a brown cloak.

"Kenku," Vern muttered, pouring out of his mouth like acid.

Kenku were birdlike humanoid Shadowkind, they were covered in feathers (ranging from brown to black in colour) with talon-like hands and feet. The species tended to be light and agile due to their hollow bones, but were also very frail and fragile, forcing them to rely on underhanded tactics in fights.

"You don't seem to be very happy to see," squawked the Kenku.

"Kuro," said Vern, "weren't you arrested for stealing a few years back?"

"Oh," cawed the Kenku, "you seem to remember me. But I've payed my dues and been given back my freedom."

"How could I forget," Vern replied, "I was there when you were arrested."

"Aww, did you really have to bring that up?" Kuro jokingly groaned.

"Considering it was for armed robbery," said Vern, "it seemed necessary."

"It was a tiny little dagger," Kuro cawed, "I couldn't even skin a possum with it."

Vern folded his arms and glared at the Kenku, he was almost certain that there was some sort of weapon, or weapons, under that cloak.

"Yeah," Kuro squawked, "but I'm a changed bird, Shadowchaser."

"Sure you are," Vern muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Honest, honest," said Kuro, "I've given up my dastardly life of crime and picked up a new hobby, duelling."

"Really?" asked Vern, raising an eyebrow, "considering that you apparently lasted three turns against…"

"That's a thing of the past," said Kuro, as he produced several cards from a pocket on his robe, "and besides, with all these rare cards I wouldn't even lose to a Shadowchaser like you. In fact I've made it all the to the top of this tournament!"

Vern raised his eyebrows upon seeing the cards. "Those are quite rare," he noted, "where did you get them?"

"Uh… us birds have a way with finding rare and shiny objects," Kuro replied, slipping the cards back into his pocket.

"I'd better get going," he said, turning around and marching off, "scope out my opponent in the finals."

Vern watched as the Kenku disappeared in the crowd, as that "somethings not right" feeling began welling inside him again.

**0 - 0 KK 0 - 0**

Over on the duelling field, a large crowd had gathered around, but they were no longer cheering in anticipation, it was of more of an annoyed mumbled.

In the centre of the field stood two men who looked to be in their twenties. One of the men was quite large and round, and dressed in grey track pants and black jacket. He was already wearing a red lensed D-Gazer and matching duel disk.

The other man was more casual, a blue, short-sleeved shirt and jeans, but with a fluorescent orange sleeveless vest over the top. A small microphone poked out of his vest pocket.

"Can't you just eliminate him already?" the portly man demanded.

"Each participant gets five minutes to make it to the arena," the man in the fluorescent jacket answered. "After that, if they're still not here they're eliminated, no exceptions."

"How much longer then?"

"About fifteen seconds," the other man replied. "Apparently he's been late to every duel in this tournament, but only by a minute or two, this is the closest this guy has cut it all tournament."

"Please tell me the consolation prize is a watch," laughed the portly man. "That guy sounds like he needs one."

"I wish," said the other man.

"I'm here! I'm here!" Ezekiel yelled, pushing his way through the crowd, "don't disqualify me!" Ezekiel then stumbled out of the crowd and onto the field, the scrambled his

"It's about time," said the portly man, "I was just about to advance to the finals by default."

"Heh, heh," Ezekiel sheepishly laughed, "sorry, I kinda lost track of time…"

"That's no excuse for keeping people waiting," said the round man.

"Well, let's not keep them waiting much longer," said Ezekiel, as he extended his hand for a handshake, "Ezekiel."

"Robin," said the portly man, as he turned his back and trudged away, all without accepting Ezekiel handshake.

Ezekiel looked at the man in the fluorescent jacket, who only glared back. He gritted his teeth and turned around, slowly making his way to the other end of the field.

The man in the fluorescent jacket held the microphone to his mouth. "Ladies and gentlemen, children and adults, duelling fan everywhere!" he announced. "Sorry to keep you waiting, you can blame the little punk down there for that. But now, get ready to duel!"

The crowd cheered as Robin and Ezekiel glared at each other. Both duellists pressed a button on their D-Gazer's.

"_AR link established,__" _a female voice chimed, as the augmented reality field expanded in a green flash.

"Duel!" both Robin and Ezekiel shouted, each drawing five cards. Scorecards floated around the duellists, each reading 8000.

"Since you were tardy," Robin smiled, "how about you go first, we don't want you to be late for anything else."

"Fine!" Ezekiel agreed, drawing a card, he then bit his bottom lip. "I set a monster and a card."

A face down monster and card appeared in front of Ezekiel.

"What a weak start," Robin smirked, drawing a card.

"And Ezekiel begins with a pitiful defence!" the announcer announced.

"Hey!" Ezekiel shouted, "It's not pathetic!"

The portly man stared at the cards in his hand. "I set a monster and a card as well."

A face down monster and card appeared in front of Robin.

"And Robin starts off his turn with a formidable defence," said the announcer.

"Formidable?" Ezekiel cried.

"Hehe," Robin chuckled, "looks like the announcer placed his bets, and it seems to be against you."

"Whatever," Ezekiel mumbled, drawing a card, "I don't need a crummy announcer on my side to beat you in a duel."

"We'll see about that," Robin spat back.

"Sure we will," Ezekiel replied, playing a card. "I summon my Wind-Up Dog (1200/900)!"

In a flash of light, a toy dog appeared, the plastic canine was painted blue and had a golden turnkey sticking out of its back.

"Toys?" Robin chuckled, "what else would a child like you use?"

"I'm not a child!" Ezekiel yelled, menacingly pointing at Robin, "I'm nineteen!"

"You sure don't act like it!"

"Shut up!" said Ezekiel, "I'll flip summon my facedown monster, Wind-Up Snail (100/2000)!"

Ezekiel's set monster flipped up, revealing a large pink snail and like its canine partner the toy mollusc had a golden turnkey poking out of its shell.

"Ha!" Robin spat, "you think that measly toys can break my defences?"

"Well, we're about to find out," Ezekiel replied, "but first I activate my Snail's effect."

The turnkey in Snail's shell began to slowly rotate.

"You see," Ezekiel smugly explained, wagging his finger in the air, "My monsters are like wind-up toys, you wind them up and unleash their effects on the opponent, and Snail's effect let me return one face down card on the field to the owner's hand, like your face down monster."

Snail shot a stream of a stream of green mucus from its mouth, covering Robin's face down monster causing it to disappear.

"Do I really have to touch this thing?" Robin complained, hesitantly taking the card off his duel disk.

The turnkey in Snail fell to the ground, landing with an audible clink.

"Of course," Ezekiel sheepishly admitted, "they can use their effect once."

"So your monsters are disposable," Robin remarked, "fitting for a child like you, as soon as you become bored of one monster you replace it with another."

"That's not true!" Ezekiel snapped. "And we'll prove it! I activate Dog's effect, increasing its level by two and its attack by six-hundred!"

Wind-Up Dog snarled as he turnkey in its back rotated. (LV:4-5/ATK:1200-1800)

"Things aren't looking good for Robin folks!" said the announcer, "folks, you might to avert your eyes."

"Now then," Ezekiel declared, taking a deep breath, "Dog, direct attack!"

Dog dashed forward, flashing its plastic teeth.

"Sorry kid," Robin smirked, a large metal golem with three notable indents in its chest rose from the ground, stopping Dog in its tracks.

"That's…" Ezekiel started.

"Stronghold the Moving Fortress," Robin answered, cutting Ezekiel off, "When activated, it special summons itself as a monster with zero attack, but two thousand defence."

Ezekiel looked at the virtual scorecard (0/2000), "Damn," he muttered, "I call off Dog's attack."

Wind-Up Dog retreated back to Ezekiel's side of the field.

"And Robin successfully repels Ezekiel's savage attack!" said the announcer, causing the crowd to cheer.

"When did I become the bad guy," Ezekiel sighed, looking through his hand, "I end my turn." The key in Dog's back fell to the ground. (LV:5-3/ATK:1800-1200)

"You've made a big mistake," Robin chuckled, drawing a card, "leaving a monster with a hundred attack points in attack position was a mistake."

"Well it's not like I could change its battle position," said Ezekiel.

"Don't make up excuses," Robin replied, slapping a card from his hand onto his duel disk, "I summon Giant Rat (1400/1450)."

In another flash of light, an oversized, grey-furred rodent appeared.

"Now, Giant Rat attack Wind-Up Snail!" Robin ordered.

Giant Rat sprinted on all fours toward Snail.

"Heh," Ezekiel gleefully smiled, "I never thought my bluff card would actually come in handy, go Legendary Wind-Up Key!"

Ezekiel's set card flipped up.

"And just what does that card do?" Robin asked.

"This little card flips all my Wind-Up monsters face-down," Ezekiel explained, as Dog and Snail disappeared beneath two reversed cards. "And since you've already called an attack…"

There was a loud cracking sound as Giant Rat's skull collided with Ezekiel's set monster, which then flipped itself up to reveal Snail. Robin's life points fell from 8000 to 7400.

"Yeah, first blood goes to me!" Ezekiel cheered, before poking his tongue out his opponent.

"Consider yourself lucky kid," Robin scowled, slipping a card into his duel disk, "I set once card face down and end my turn."

A face down card appeared behind Stronghold.

"And Robin unfortunately fails to damage the scheming Ezekiel, instead he takes damage from a counter attack!" the announcer commented.

"I'm really starting to not like this 'bad guy' thing," Ezekiel muttered, drawing a card and glancing at it. "I'll start by activating the card I just drew, Wind-Up Factory!"

A Spell card appeared face-up behind Ezekiel's monsters, and a colourful contraption appeared over Ezekiel's duel disk.

"This little card is the centrepiece of my deck," said Ezekiel, "because once a turn; when a Wind-Up monster's effect activates, it lets my add a Wind-Up monster from my deck to my hand."

"Do your worst you little brat," Robin smirked, glancing at his face down card.

"Well, you did ask me to," Ezekiel grinned, "and I'll start by using my Snail's effect."

"Hold it!" Robin shouted, "you said your monsters could only use their effect once while on the field."

"Ooh, so close," Ezekiel cringed, "but I might have left out that my monsters can only activate their effects once while they're face-up on the field, so flipping them face-down is kind of like winding them up again."

The key in Snail's shell turned again, Snail then shot another stream of mucus that covered Robin's set card.

"Disgusting," Robin muttered, taking the card out of his duel disk.

"Yeah, yeah," said Ezekiel, as a card poked out of his deck, "but now the effect of my Factory activates, which adds my Wind-Up Hunter (1600/500) to my hand." Ezekiel grabbed up the card and immediately played it, "And I'll you one guess who I'm summoning."

A plastic, green centaur, armed with a yellow crossbow, appeared in a flash of light.

"And just so my Snail and Hunter don't get lonely," Ezekiel added.

Ezekiel's set monster flipped up to reveal Wind-Up Dog.

"So you've assembled an army of toys," said Robin, "I'll enjoy destroying them."

"Like he… heck you will!" Ezekiel shouted, "I activate the effect of my Dog's effect!"

The key in Dog's back began to turn. (LV:3-5/ATK:1200-1800)

"And Ezekiel mounts another desperate attack on Robin's life points," said the announcer.

"Hunter attack!" Ezekiel ordered, ignoring the announcer's jabs.

Wind-Up Hunter raised its crossbow, aiming straight for Giant Rat, the centaur then fired a bolt that struck Giant Rat in the chest, shattering it and decreased to 7200.

"That's one dangerous toy," Robin mused, as a second Giant Rat appeared on his field.

"Yeah," Ezekiel sheepishly agreed, "I think its banned in Japan. Now back onto business, Dog attack that oversized mouse!"

Dog dashed toward Giant Rat, tackling it and causing it to shatter, further dropping Robin's life points to 6800.

"And Ezekiel takes another bite out of Robin's life points!" the announcer called, "folks, words cannot describe the horrors right here."

"Seriously! Seriously!" Ezekiel screamed, turning his attention to the announcer.

"Hey!" Robin shouted, catching Ezekiel's attention. "Ignore him, this duel is between the two of us. Let him do his job and we'll both do ours!"

"Fine," Ezekiel huffed, shrugging his shoulders.

"Good," Robin smiled, "and I shouldn't have to remind you about Giant Rat's effect."

"I know, I know," Ezekiel nodded, "just summon another one and let me finish my turn."

"Oh, so you think I'm summoning another Rat do you?" Robin mockingly asked, as a green, gear-themed robot appeared in front of him, "and since Green Gadget (1400/600) was summoned, I can add Red Gadget to my hand." A card stuck out from Robin's deck, which he added to his hand.

"Uh oh," Ezekiel said to himself, "if I can remember Gadgets right, if he gets a whole set of them on the field, Stronghold's attack will go through the roof!" He then glanced at Hunter, "I've only got one shot with this. I activate Hunter's effect, tributing Snail!"

Snail transformed into blue energy, which then flowed into Hunter's crossbow.

"What's he doing?" Robin asked, as Hunter loaded its crossbow.

"By sacrificing one of his fellow Wind-Up monsters," Ezekiel explained, as Hunter took aim at Robin, "Hunter sends one card from your hand to the graveyard." Hunter fired another bolt, this time striking a random card in Robin's hand.

Robin stood silent for a moment, before grabbing the card and slipping it into the graveyard, "Congratulations," he smiled, "you hit my Mirror Force."

"Damn it," Ezekiel muttered, glancing down at the four remaining cards in his hand; Wind-Up Warrior, Zenmailfunction, Wind-Up Rat and Weights & Zenmaisures. "I end my turn," he declared. The key in Dog's back stopped turning and fell to the ground. (LV:5-3/ATK:1800-1200)

"And so begins mine," said Robin, drawing a card. "I think I'll start by summoning my Red Gadget (1300/1500)."

A second gadget-themed robot appeared, this one red in colour with a large silver gear attached to its back.

"And we all know what that means," said Robin, adding another card to his hand.

"Wait a second," Ezekield realised, clicking his fingers and grinning wildly, "You've got no way to summon that monster and…"

"I activate the Spell Card Double Summon," Robin calmly stated, wiping the smile of Ezekiel's face, "do I really need to inform you what this card does?"

Ezekiel's jaw dropped as he raised a quivering finger, "no," he answered.

"Good," said Robin, "because now I use my second summon to summon Yellow Gadget (1200/1200)."

A third gear-themed robot appeared, obviously yellow in colour, another card then poked out of Robin's deck, which the portly man added to his hand.

"Oh boy, this is going to hurt," Ezekiel cringed, looking over to Stronghold.

"And now since I have all three Gadgets on my field," Robin declared, "Stronghold gains a whopping three thousand attack!"

The three indents in Stronghold's chest were now taken up by three spinning gears. (ATK:0-3000)

"This is it folks!" said the announcer, "Robin has launched a massive counter attack on Ezekiel!"

"And now I switch my monster to attack position!"

Stronghold stood up straight, towering above the field. Ezekiel gulped as the shadow of the metal fortress covered his side of the field.

"But before I attack," said Robin, playing another card, "I'll activate Reload, shuffling the four cards in my hand into my deck and drawing four hopefully more useful cards." Robin placed the four cards in his hand and hit the auto shuffler.

"Please, please, don't draw anything good," Ezekiel prayed.

Robin drew four new cards, and scrutinised them.

"Anything good?" Ezekiel nervously asked.

"I'd say you're lucky, but considering what you're about to go through you're not lucky at all," Robin replied, "Stronghold, attack Hunter."

The three gears in Stronghold's chest span faster, as the fortress raised its fist.

"Hunter!" Ezekiel screamed, as Stronghold clobbered the toy centaur with a single punch, sending shards of plastic flying everywhere and leaving a large crater, Ezekiel life points plummeted to 6600.

"Green Gadget, you're up."

"Dog!" Ezekiel cried, as the blue canine's tail dropped between its legs and it looked back at its master, then Green Gadget's fist collided with it, shattering it pieces and reducing Ezekiel's life points to 6400.

"Humph," Robin snorted, crossing his arms, "you should show more concern for yourself. Red Gadget, Yellow Gadget, direct attack."

Ezekiel could do nothing but brace himself as Red Gadget raced toward him, but he was still knocked to the ground by the Gadget's fist punching him straight in the stomach, dropping his life points to 5100.

"Still better than the Aliens," Ezekiel groaned, getting back to his feet…

Only to be knocked back down by Yellow Gadget a second later, dropping Ezekiel to 3900 life points.

"Totally… still better… than the Aliens," Ezekiel whimpered in pain, slowly standing back up again as the crowd cheered for Robin.

"And in one spectacular move," said the announcer, "Robin eliminates more than half of Ezekiel's life points!"

"Just rub it in," Ezekiel murmured, as he brushed blades of grass off his shirt and repositioned his hat.

"Gladly," Robin smirked, slipping a card into his duel disk, "I set one card face down and end my turn." A face down card appeared behind Robin's monsters.

"My turn," Ezekiel announced, drawing a card. The youth glanced at the red-boarded card, then moved his hand over another card in his hand. "Sorry man, but I see a massive flaw in your set up, I can destroy one Gadget which will drop Stronghold's attack to zero, then I can just trash it with another monster."

"Oh can you now?" Robin smirked, as his face down card flipped up, "because my Pixie Ring Trap prevents you from attacking any attack position monster I control except the one with the highest attack."

"Aww crap," Ezekiel swore, "this is going to be even harder than I thought."

"Actually," Robin explained, "it's going to a lot harder than that. You see Pixie Ring adds a second layer of protection, because even if you destroy a Gadget through a card effect and drop Stronghold's attack to zero, Pixie Ring will force you to go through any remaining Gadgets before you get to attack Stronghold."

"Unless I can destroy Stronghold first," said Ezekiel.

"Then why don't you?" challenged Robin.

Ezekiel scoured his hand for a moment, "I summon Wind-Up Rat (600/600)!"

A small toy rodent appeared in flash of light.

"Oh, its so adorable," said Robin in a mocking tone, "I'll enjoy crushing it."

"I don't think so," Ezekiel shot back, as Rat wheeled itself around in a a small circle, "Because with Rat's effect, I can change it to defence to revive another Wind-Up monster in defence. So I'll summon Wind-Up Dog!"

Rat squeaked as the key in its back turned, and a black portal opened on the ground, and Wind-Up Dog rose from the portal.

"Two monsters with less than a thousand defence," Robin snorted, "Sorry but your still finished next turn."

"Not quite," Ezekiel replied, as a card stuck out of his deck, "first, Wind-Up Factory a adds Wind-Up Magician to my hand," he added the card to his hand, "now I'll activate Dog's effect."

The key in Dog's back began to turn. (LV:3-5/ATK:1200-1800)

"And the point of that was?"

"So I can activate this Spell," Ezekiel declared, "Weights & Zenmaisures!"

A large set of golden scales appeared, with Rat and Dog hopping on either plate, tipping the scale toward Dog's side.

"No one uses that kind of scales anymore," commented Robin.

"Well you'll be happy to know that you're the operator buddy," Ezekiel cheerily announced. "You see, my Spell targets two Wind-Up monsters with different levels, then you get to pick one of them, and the monster you didn't pick has its level changed to match the one you did pick."

"So it's either a rank three or five," Robin pondered, putting a hand to his chin, "I think level three is a safer bet."

"Whatever you say hub," Ezekiel smiled, as the scales balanced and disappeared. (Dog LV:5-3) "Oh and by the way, since you chose the monster with the lower level, I get an extra draw!" The youth made another draw.

"You could've mentioned that before," Robin scowled, "not telling your opponent the full effects of your cards is considered cheating."

"Um…" Ezekiel stammered, "I… Umm… Forgot. And besides, would've it had changed your mind if you did know?"

"Maybe," Robin simply answered.

"Moving on," Ezekiel declared, "I construct the overlay network using my two level three monsters!"

Both Dog and Rat glowed orange, before changing into swirls of energy and flying into the air. A portal the opened on the ground and the two energy forms flew inside.

"Come out to play, Wind-Up Zenmaines!"

Then a large, colourful machine rose from the portal, the machine resembled a tank, but had two long arms that stretched out either side of it. The two arms then crossed over in front of the machine's body, putting it into a defensive stance.

"This is Wind-Up Zenmaines (1500/2100)," grinned Ezekiel, "and if it makes you happy, if this guy would be destroyed I can just detach a Xyz material instead. Oh, and at the end of a turn when I do use this effect, I get to destroy a card on the field!"

"Well thank you," said Robin, with a sly grin, "I'll keep that in mind."

"Yeah, well you'd better keep my two face down in mind as well," Ezekiel added, slipping two cards in his hand into his duel disk, causing them to appear behind Zenmaines.

"And Ezekiel sets up… quite a strong defence," said the announcer, a tone of shock in his voice, "but nothing Robin will be able to handle."

"I'll admit you saved yourself there," said Robin, as he drew a card. The portly man glanced at his card, "actually I retract that statement."

"Huh…" Ezekiel stammered, "why?"

"Because I activate the Spell Card Forbidden Chalice!"

"Oooh boy," Ezekiel grimaced, unconsciously taking a step back.

"This card increases the attack of a monster by four-hundred, but at the cost of negating that monsters effect," Robin explained, "and guess who I'm targeting!"

A gloomy aura appeared around Zenmaines. (ATK: 1500-1900)

"Now!" Robin ordered, "Stronghold attack than oversized tin can!"

The gears in Stronghold's chest span, and the metal behemoth moved forward.

Ezekiel looked between his two set cards, before fixating his gaze on the left card,_"__I could activate this card, it__'__d save Zenmaines but I__'__d be in even deeper at the end phase, but my other card on the other hand__…"_

Stronghold clenched it's fist and swung at Zenmaines.

"I activate my set card," Ezekiel declared, "Book of Moon, so I can flip one monster on the field into face-down defence position."

"I see," said Robin, "You plan on flipping my Stronghold face down, negating my attack."

"Nope," Ezekiel smiled.

"You're going to flip your Zenmaines face down, resetting its effect."

"Oooh, so close."

Robin's eyes opened wide in realisation, as Green Gadget was engulfed by its own card.

"And since you only have two Gadgets," said Ezekiel, "the attack of Stronghold becomes a big fat zero!"

One of the gears in Stronghold's chest disappeared, causing the Trap Monster to grind to a halt. Its fist stopping just short of Zenmaines. (ATK:3000-0)

At that time, Zenmaines mounted a counter attack, shoving Stronghold back to Robin's side of the field with its mechanical arms, the giant machine almost stepping on its master. Robin's life points plummeted to 4700.

The crowd cheered, as Ezekiel smiled, happy that the impatient crowd was more-or-less neutral to him now.

"I'll flip my Green Gadget face up," Robin declared, as the card concealing the green robot flipped over. "And since I have all three Gadgets again," he motioned to Stronghold, which now had all three gears spinning in its chest. (ATK: 0-3000)

"I end my turn," Robin announced.

"And Ezekiel successfully defends himself from Robin's onslaught," said the announcer.

"My move," Ezekiel declared, drawing a card. "And I'll start by activating the Spell Card Zenmailfunction! This card lets me revive one Wind-Up monster from my graveyard in defence position!"

In a flash of light, Wind-Up Hunter reappeared on the field, then promptly fell to loosely connected pieces.

"Of course," Ezekiel added, "the monster summoned has its effect negated, and can't be used as a tribute or synchro material."

"And let me guess," said Robin, "you're going to use it in a Xyz summon."

"Well duh," Ezekiel shrugged, playing another card, "I summon Wind-Up Warrior (1200/1800)!"

Another Wind-Up toy appeared. This one human in shape and orange in colour, with large, pincer-like arms.

"You do realise that to Xyz summon, you need monsters of equal levels," commented Robin, "And your two monsters have different levels."

"That's where Wind-Up Warrior's effect comes in," said Ezekiel, pointing at the orange toy, as its turnkey began to rotate, "he can target a Wind-Up monster I control, and pump its level up by one and its attack by six-hundred!"

A golden aura appeared around the pieces of Hunter. (LV:3-4/ATK:1600-2200)

"And before I forget," Ezekiel continued, "my Factory adds Wind-Up Shark to my hand!" Another card stuck out of Ezekiel's deck, which the boy snatched up and added to his hand.

"Now I construct the overlay network with my two level fours!"

Hunter and Warrior turned into glowing forms of energy which then shot into the sky, another portal opened up on the ground, allowing the two energy forms to rush inside.

"Come on out and play, the master of keys, Wind-Up Zenmaister (1900/1500)!"

A large machine emerged from the portal, the machine had four rockets engines that constructed the its lower half, while its upper half was roughly human in shape, with two large arms and red, glowing eyes.

"If that's all you can muster," said Robin, "a Xyz monster with less than two-thousand attack?"

"Actually Zenmaister gains a bonus three-hundred attack for each Xyz material attached to it," Ezekiel add, as two glowing spheres orbited the machine. (ATK:1900-2500)

"That still isn't enough," commented Robin.

"I'm not ready yet," Ezekiel whined, as he played another card, "I activate Xyz Gift, while I control at least two Xyz monsters I can detach two of their Xyz materials to draw two cards."

The two glowing spheres that surrounded Zenmaines disappeared, as Ezekiel drew two cards from his deck.

"_Cross Attack and Guardraw,__" _he thought, biting his bottom lip, _"__come on deck, couldn__'__t you have given me something better?__"_

"I can tell by the look on your face that giving up Zenmaines materials was a huge waste," Robin smirked, crossing his arms.

"I'll show you waste, because Stronghold's scrap metal!" said Ezekiel, clenching his free hand into a fist, "I activate my Overwind Trap card, which doubles the attack and defence of a Wind-Up Monster!"

Electricity surged through Zenmaister, as a red aura appeared around it. (2500-5000/1500-3000)

"Five-thousand attack!" Robin gasped, dropping his arms in shock.

"Folks," said the announcer, "Ezekiel Benett has overcome Robin's brutal Gadget strategy."

"Oh, don't look so shocked," Ezekiel said in a mocking, smug tone, "Overwind returns the targeted monster to my hand - or in this case the extra deck - at the end phase. Of course, there's a lot to happen between now and then, like Zenmaister attacking Stronghold! Go! Rocket Punch!"

The four engines at Zenmaister's base spewed fire, launching the machine into the air and straight for Stronghold.

Robin shielded himself with his arm, as Zenmaister shattered Stronghold with a solid punch, sending metal debris flying in all directions, several of which rained down on Robin, as the portly man's life points dropped to 2700.

"I beat Stronghold, I beat Stronghold," Ezekiel cheered, leaping up and down in excitement, before playfully poking his tongue out at his opponent.

"You're not out of trouble yet," said Robin, "and neither am I. But at the end of your turn your Zenmaister is, getting sent back to the extra deck and all."

"Hey," Ezekiel replied, "I said a lot was going before the end of my turn and a lot is! First I set one card face down," he slipped another card into his duel disk and it appeared on the field. "Now I'll use Zenmaister's effect, by detaching just one of his Xyz materials, he flips one monster I control face-down!"

One of the spheres circling Zenmaister disappeared, as the monster itself retreated under a reverse card.

"That seems pointless," said Robin.

"Not entirely," Ezekiel explained, "remember that if my monsters are flipped face down their effects reset and can be used again. And since I have nothing else to do I'll end my turn."

At that time, Zenmaister emerged from underneath its card. (ATK:1900-2200)

"Ooops," Ezekiel sheepishly grinned, "I forgot to mention that a monster that was flipped face down by Zenmaister is flipped back into attack position at the end of the turn."

"And I'm guessing that since you flipped your monster face down," Robin added, drawing a card, "it avoids the negative effect of Overwind that would return it to your hand."

"That's right," Ezekiel nodded.

"That may have been a spark of brilliance," said Robin, "but this is where you meet your end. I activate the Spell Card Magic Planter, by sending a face-up Continuous Trap to my graveyard I can draw two cards."

The Pixie Ring Trap disappeared and Robin made two more draws.

"Didn't you just criticise me for giving up my defences to draw two cards?" Ezekiel asked.

Robin paused for a moment, then spoke. "But unlike you I didn't draw crap," he said, playing a card, "Mystical Space Typhoon will blow away your Factory."

A strong wind kicked up, forcing Ezekiel to grab his hat so it didn't blow away. A small tornado then ripped across the field, shattering the Wind-Up factory Spell Card and the device on Ezekiel's duel disk.

"Damn it," Ezekiel swore.

"It gets worse," Robin continued, playing another card, "I activate another Double Summon."

"This can't be good," Ezekiel muttered.

"That's right," Robin laughed, "this isn't good, for you. I tribute my Red and Green Gagdets to summon Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon (3000/2000)!"

Both Red and Green Gadgets disappeared in a golden light.

"_A two tribute monster!__" _Ezekiel thought, _"__I was right, this isn__'__t good.__"_

With a roar, a large machine appeared above Robin. Dragon only in shape, the machine appeared to be constructed entirely out of junk and spare parts. The creature's eyes glowed bright red.

"Crap," Ezekiel muttered, craning his neck to look up at the dragon.

"And I'm not done yet," Robin continued, "I tribute my Yellow Gadget to summon my Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Chimera (2300/1300)."

Yellow Gadget disappeared, and in its place appeared a three-headed metal beast, all three heads roar in eery unison.

"Thing just went from bad to worse for Ezekiel folks," said the announcer, "Robin has just summoned two powerful monsters. At this moment it could be anyone's game."

"And before I do attack," said Robin, "I'll let you know that my monsters gain bonus effects since I used my Gadgets to summon them. Firstly, since I used Red and Green Gadget as tribute to summon my dragon; whenever it attacks a defence position monster it will inflict piercing damage, and whenever it damages you in battle it will inflict four-hundred damage extra."

"Aww crap," Ezekiel murmured, "so I can't defend from your dragon's attacks."

"But you can't leave out Chimera," Robin gleefully added, "because I used Yellow Gadget to summon it each time it destroy one of your monsters by battle, you get hit with seven-hundred points damage!"

Ezekiel gritted his teeth as he stared into a set of Chimera's glowing, red eyes.

"Gadjiltron Dragon, attack his Zenmaines," Robin ordered.

Gadjiltron Dragon roared in compliance, as flames appeared it its mouth.

"Zenmaines!" Ezekiel cried, as Gadjiltron Dragon fired the flames in its mouth and incinerated the colourful Xyz, as his life points fell to 3000. Shards of Zenmaines then rained down on Ezekiel, further dropping his life points to 2600.

"And don't forget Chimera's attack," said Robin, as all three heads of Chimera howled, before the creature dashed toward Zenmaister.

"Not so fast," Eekiel declared, "this might only save me a hundred points, but in this game every single point counts, even a measly hundred points. I activate…"

"Suit yourself," said Robin, interrupting Ezekiel speech, "but since you obviously haven't done your research, I'll let you that when a my monsters attack, you're forbidden from activating any Spell or Trap Cards."

Electricity sparked around Ezekiel's set card. "Aww, come on," he moaned, as Chimera tackled Zenmaister, shattering it into pieces, Ezekiel life points fell to 2500.

"And don't forget Chimera's effect," Robin added, as the remains of Zenmaister rained down on Ezekiel, his life points plummeting to 1800.

"I'll end my turn," said Robin.

"And Robin makes a powerful turn around!" said the announcer, "Ezekiel has been pushed into the mother of all corners!"

"My move," Ezekiel declared, drawing a card but purposefully keeping it so that the back of the card faced him.

"_Please, please, let this be a miracle,__" _Ezekiel's mind race, as he slowly turned the card toward him. The youth looked at the red boarded card, _"__Magic Cylinder? Seriously deck? Seriously? What kind of sick irony is this?__"_

"And by the looks of it, your deck has failed you again," Robin smirked.

"A deck doesn't fail a duellist!" Ezekiel shot back, raising his fist, "it's the duellist using it who fails the deck."

"You didn't think very hard about that sentence did you?" Robin mockingly asked.

"You're getting too full of yourself," said Ezekiel, "you might start leaking soon."

"Insults won't prevent your defeat," said Robin.

"Yeah, yeah," siad Ezekiel, "I summon Wind-Up Magcian (600/1800)."

A purple, toy magician, with a long nose and staff appeared in front of Ezekiel.

"And since I summoned a Wind-Up monster, I can special summon Wind-Up Shark (1500/1300) from my hand."

A blue, toy shark appeared in front of Ezekiel, and promptly began flopping around. The key in Magician then began to turn.

"Now my Magician's effect kicks in," Ezekiel explained, as Magician raised its staff, "when I activate a Wind-Up monster's effect, like Shark's, I get to summon a Wind-Up monster from my deck, like Wind-Up Soldier (1800/1200)."

The tip of Magician's staff glowed, as another toy appeared on the field, this one human in shape, painted green with red, pincer-like hands.

"Three level fours," said Robin, "So what are you planning to Xyz Summon?"

"Actually, I'm going for something a little higher," Ezekiel declared as both Soldier and Shark's keys began to turn. "I activate the effects of Shark and Soldier, increasing both their levels by one and Soldier's attack by four-hundred!" (Shark LV:4-5) (Soldier LV:4-5/ATK:1800-2200)

"So it's a rank five you're going for," said Robin.

"Yep," Ezekiel nodded, "I overlay my level five Soldier and Shark, to Xyz summon a monster so powerful you'll be quaking in your boots!"

Soldier and Shark turned into energy forms and flew into the portal that opened up on the ground.

"Come out to play, Wind-Up Arsenal Zenmaioh (2600/1900)!"

A massive, haman-shaped, colourful machine rose from the portal, rivalling Gadjiltron Dragon in height. The machine's right arm composed of a large drill, while its left arms was a large pincer that resembled Zenmaines' own set.

"That's may be enough to take down my Chimera," said Robin, "but my Dragon is still stronger, and next turn, one attack on your Magciain and it's all over."

"But it's not your turn yet," said Ezekiel, as his Trap flipped up, "I activate Guardraw, this card switches my Magician to defence position and lets me draw a card."

Magician knelt down and held its staff out in front of it, while Ezekiel drew another card from his deck, he looked at the card and frowned.

"Zenmaioh, attack! Send Chimera to the scrapyard in the sky!" Ezekiel ordered, "Giga Drill Breaker!"

The drill on Zenmaioh began to spin, as the giant machine stepped forward, and thrust its drill into Chimera, shattering it and dropping Robin's life points to 2400.

"I set three cards face down and end my turn," said Ezekiel, slipping the three cards into his duel disk.

"And Ezekiel attempts to make a comeback against Robin!" the announcer shouted, "but it doesn't look like it'll be enough folks."

"My turn," Robin announced, drawing card, "I'll have my dragon attack your Magician."

Gadjiltron Dragon roared, another blast of fire of gathering in its mouth.

"This is gonna hurt," Ezekiel groaned, bracing himself for the impact.

Gadjiltron dragon real eased it fiery blast at Magician, incinerating the toy in a massive explosion. Ezekiel was knocked down by the blast, landing on his behind and knocking him down to 600 life points.

"And don't forget," Robin gleefully added, "Gadjiltron Dragon adds a little extra!"

Ezekiel had no time to react as the melting remains of Wind-Up Magician's staff came flying out of the fireball, striking Ezekiel right between the eyes and knocking him flat on the ground, his life points dropping to a measly 200.

Ezekiel laid on the ground motionless for a few seconds, after that he opened his mouth…

"YE-OUCH!" he cried, sitting up as he vigorously rubbed the now red spot between his eyes. "When did solid vision become so… so… solid?"

Robin watched his opponent as he slowly stood up, and brushed the latest collection of dirt and grass off his shirt. "I sat one card face down and end my turn," Robin declared, as a face down card appeared under Gadjiltron Dragon.

"So it's do or die time for Ezekiel folks," said the announcer, "and to be quite honest, the duel between these two has kept me on the edge of my seat!"

"My turn," Ezekiel declared, drawing a card, and once again holding it out at arm's length so he couldn't see it. _"__Don__'__t do this to me again deck, please,__" _he mentally pleaded, _"__I believe in you and you believe in me.__"_

He slowly turned the card around to his face him, and immediately his expression turned into despair. He dropped his head so that his hat obscured his eyes.

"Didn't draw the card you needed," Robin grinned, "aw well kid, there's always next tournament."

Ezekiel frown then turned into a smile, as he looked up to cheerfully face his opponent. "Just kidding!" he exclaimed. "I'll start by using Zenmaioh's effect, by using up an Xyz material I can blow up two face down cards on the field."

One of the spheres floating around Zenmaioh fizzled out, as the monster's left arm began to glow.

"But I've only got one face down card," said Robin, "and you said that your monster destroys two cards."

"Who said they had to be just your cards?" Ezekiel asked, as red targets appeared on Robin's set card as well as on one of his own. "But before they get blow up, I'll chain my face-down Emergency Provision!"

One of Ezekiel's set card flipped up, and immediately the other two disintegrated into golden sparkles.

"I don't have to explain what this card does do I?" Ezekiel asked, as a golden aura appeared around him, life points shooting to 2200. Electricity then arced from Zenmaioh's arm to Robin's set card and an empty spot in front of Ezekiel.

"So what?" snorted Robin, "you've destroyed my set card and padded your life points, but you still haven't defeated my dragon!"

"Not yet anyway," Ezekiel replied, playing the card in his hand, "I summon Wind-Up Juggler (1700/1000)."

In a flash of light, a toy juggler, bouncing on a spring as opposed to legs, appeared. The green toy juggled five small balls between its hands with expert precision.

"Is that all you got?" said Robin, "that thing couldn't even scratch my monster's paint job, _if _it had a paint job."

"Wanna bet?" Ezekiel playfully asked, "Juggler attack Gadjiltron Dragon!"

With a hint of hesitation, Juggler threw all its juggling balls high into the air and bounced forward toward Robin's dragon.

"Are you insane?" yelled Robin, "You're only going to lose almost all the life points you just gained."

"Sure I will," said Ezekiel, as Juggler was incinerated by a blast of fire from Gadjiltron Dragon and his life points fell to 900. "But now Juggler's effect kicks in."

The juggling balls that Juggler there away landed on Gadjitron Dragon.

"Wait for it," Ezekiel paused.

Robin sighed, knowing that the enviable was coming. Deep down, he knew it had been coming from the moment he heard Ezekiel say 'just kidding'.

The crowd gasped as Gadjiltron Dragon shattered into pixels.

"You see," said Ezekiel, "When Juggler battles a monster, I can use his effect to destroy the opposing monster after the battle, and it doesn't matter if Juggler survives."

Robin looked solemnly at the ground in defeat.

"Let's finish this Zenmaioh!" called Ezekiel, as the colourful machine's drill spun, "attack directly! Finishing move! Giga Drill Breaker!"

Zenmaioh stepped forward, readying itself to attack.

"But only a tap!" Ezekiel added, as Zenmaioh's drill headed toward Robin.

Zenmaioh gently bonked Robin over the head with its drill, but with still enough force to knock the large man over and drain the remainder of his life points.

Horns sounded through the area as soon as Robin's life points dropped to 0, as the crowd cheered. The AR field receded, Zenmaioh disappearing along with it.

Ezekiel bowed. "Thankyou. Thankyou," he said.

Robin propped himself up on one elbow, and began rubbing the spot where the Wind-Up monster had struck him, "that was a good duel," he said.

"It was too," agreed a voice.

Robin looked up to see Ezekiel standing over him, offering a hand to assist Robin.

"Phew," Ezekiel sighed, "that was close, if I hadn't of drawn Juggler when I did… I probably would've drawn Kitten or Fissure or something like that…. maybe."

"You have a sense of humour, don't you?" said Robin, taking Ezekiel's hand.

"Sure do," Ezekiel smiled, as he struggled (but eventually managed) to help Robin to his feet. "And don't feel to bad about losing, there's always another tournament."

"Yeah, I know what I said," Robin replied, "just let me warn you one thing. Watch your back, Kuro is sneaky."

"Kuro?" Ezekiel gasped, "that guy made it to the finals! But… but… he such a pain in the ass!"

"But that has no effect on someone duelling abilities, but you'd know that," said Robin. "And that guy has a lot of rare cards, most people think they're stolen…"

"Eh Erm…" coughed the announcer, "if you two are done, I'd like to announce the winner."

"Go right ahead," said Robin, "we all know who won."

"I did!" Ezekiel cheered, happily bouncing on the spot.

"And our winner is," the announcer declared into the microphone, "Ezekiel Benett!"

The crowd cheered, as Ezekiel bowed.

"I gotta celebrate," he said, before running off into the crowd.

"Wait! Wait!" called the announcer, "come back!"

But his words fell on deaf ears, Ezekiel had already disappeared into the crowd.

"I guess he's overexcited," sighed Robin, "and a little dim."

"A little?" questioned the announcer, running his hand down his face.

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"Yes, yes, yes!" Ezekiel cheered as he weaved his way through the crowd, he then came to a lamppost and carelessly swung around it…

Until he bashed his face into something that felt like a brick wall.

The youth fell on his behind clutching his head in pain.

The brick wall-like object was in fact a person, dressed in a crimson jacket and khaki jeans, with a duffle bag slung over his shoulder.

"Ouch," Ezekiel groaned, clutching his forehead in pain. His head was spinning, almost as if he had a migraine.

"Watch where you're going kid," Vern growled, glaring down at the youth.

Ezekiel rubbed his face before looking up at the man he ran into, "I'm not a…" he started before stopping dead cold.

Vern watched as the colour drained from the youth's face, his jaw slowly descending in shock. His eyes narrowed and darted back and forth, taking in every monstrous feature of the "man" in front of him: sharply pointed ears; the sets of conical horns on his head and chin; his long, feral fingers; the death-like stare of his soulless brown eyes and the inhuman glimmer of his brassy skin.

Vern scowled, "what is it?" he asked, accidentally flashing his sharp, pointed teeth.

"M…M…M…" the youth stammered, visibly shaking as he nervously raised his index finger to point at Vern.

"Monster!" he shouted, before scrambling to his feet and running off in the other direction.

Several passerby glanced at Vern, only to shrug and continue on, seeing nothing monstrous about the "man" in front of them.

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Ezekiel only stopped running when he was well away from the "monster", the tournament or anything else that could rattle him further, coming across a shady bench hidden by tall shrubs.

"Okay…" he panted, leaning against the bench, "just calm down. It was just your imagination. You were just overexcited from winning, that's all. You're totally not insane, just because you're seeing things and talking to yourself, it totally doesn't mean you're insane, right?"

"Does it?"

Ezekiel slumped down on the bench, an overwhelming sense of dread had overcome the youth. Deep down, he knew that what he saw was real. His mind raced at what would come next, but one question that keep recurring to him was…

Why didn't anyone else notice the "monster"?

"This is going to get worse," he said, holding his head in hands, "they always do."

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**Card Database**

Guardraw  
Normal Trap  
Change 1 face-up Attack Position monster you control to face-up Defence Position, then draw 1 card.

_This card was used by Yuma Tsukumo in episode 144 of Yu-Gi-Oh ZeXal! __"__The Ceremonial Battle! Yuma VS Astral__"__. Creative Credit goes to the writers of that episode._

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And so ends another chapter of this tale.

Next time, we move away from Ezekiel and Vern's (mis)adventures and meet another member of the Sydney Shadowchasers, as she gets into a high-speed duel with a crafty thief. Will she apprehend her target, or will he slip through the system? Find out in Round 03: Special Schedule!


	3. Round 03 - Special Schedule

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**Shadowchasers: Hidden World**

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**Round 03: Special Schedule**

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**An introduced species is a plant or animal that is currently living outside its natural distribution range, usually having arrived there by an outside force****… ****Such as human activity (whether accidental or not). Introduced species can have a variety of effects on their new ecosystem, while not every introduced species has a negative impact on ecosystems, those that do are known as invasive species.**

**Invasive species populations often grow out of control, due to lack of natural predators for the invading species and the species ability to outcompete native animals for resources. Invasive species are often regarded as threats to the environment, human health or the economy (in the field of crop produce).**

**A controversial method of control invasive species is eradication. Eradication methods include culling, introducing a predator species to the environment or introducing a virus or disease that targets the invading species.**

**One case of this method being successful is the eradication of rabbits (which devastated vegetation, which lead to soil erosion) on Macquarie Island, a small island located about halfway between New Zealand and Antarctica, but is considered a part of Tasmania, at least politically. The rabbit was introduced to the island in the 1800****'****s by sealers as a food source, but with no natural predators the population exploded, reaching over a hundred thousand in numbers by the 1970****'****s.**

**Eradication methods began in the 1980****'****s with the release of the Myxoma virus, the virus reduced the number of rabbits on the to roughly ten thousand, but numbers increased back up to a hundred thousand by 2006 due to rabbits developing a resistance to the virus.**

**In 2007, a stronger Myxoma virus was released onto the island, combined with baiting and trapping completely eradicated the rabbit from Macquarie Island in early 2014. To this day, no signs of rabbits have been found on the island. **

**It may not be the most humane solution, but sometimes it****'****s for the best****…**

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A little later in day, but before noon.

A D-Wheel sped through the Cross City Tunnel; the latest model (of course), silver in colour and sleek in design, clearly built for speed and durability. The rider effortlessly weaved the D-Wheel through midday traffic.

The D-Wheel rider was a woman in her early twenties, dressed in a greased-stained brown leather jacket and equally greased stained blue jeans. Her long, jet-black hair trailed out from underneath her little skin was exposed was a smooth sepia.

Her name was Arika Pearson. Another member of the Sydney Shadowchasers, and one whose ancestry could be traced back to aboriginal tribes of south-east Queensland…

At least on one side.

"_This just in,__" _the radio buzzed, _"__a bar brawl has broken out in the Drinkin__' __Lizard, any available units make you way to the Kings Cross area.__"_

Arika noticeably flinched at the mention of the Drinkin' Lizard bar. She then gritted her teeth in anger.

"No one messes with my favourite bar. I'll skin them alive!" she grumbled, then switched her D-Wheel into high gear and took off down the highway.

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In most major cities, there was always a district where business was focused on "not-so family friendly" aspects. These places had many names, but the most commonly known as red light districts.

Kings Cross, as well as the adjacent Darlinghurst, were Sydney's red light districts, if not ones for the entire country. The localities were known for their risqué atmosphere and large amount of bars, night clubs and adult entertainment. It was even rumoured to be home to more than a few organised crime groups…

But right now, however, there was almost _nothing _organised about this crime.

A stool smashed through the stained-glass window of the Drinkin' Lizard bar, landing out on the footpath as an increasingly worried looking crowd looked on.

"First that rampage in that café, now this," whined a member of the crowd, "why do I get the feeling this city is full of psychopaths."

Then, a sleek, silver D-Wheel pushed its way through the crowd and pulled up just outside the Drinkin' Lizard.

"_We are reporting a case of assault and property destruction in Paddy__'__s Mar__…" _the radio buzzed, before being cut off by Arika switching off her D-Wheel.

Arika leaped off her ride and drew her sword, she heard a crash from inside the bar, then, almost instinctively raced toward the door and shoved it open…

The inside of the Drinkin' Lizard looked like a war zone, broken furniture and smashed glasses scattered across the floor.

In the middle of the room, easily hoisting a table above his head, was a somewhat enraged figure. His pale skin and a combination of human and boar-like facial features (including a pair of tusk -ike teeth) confirmed his status as an half-orc. He was wearing a leather jacket with a burning skull printed onto the back.

This Hells Angel's was Warrack, a trouble making half-orc who could often be found drunk and was even considered a nuisance by his own tribe.

Across the room, stood another Shadowkind. A woman who looked to be in her mid-twenties. Her long, blonde hair tied back into a ponytail. But it was her green, reptilian eyes and black, scaly skin that most off-putting about her appearance.

This woman was a snakeblood, the offspring of a human and an Ophidian (a snake-like Shadowkind that most Shadowchaser were all too familiar with).

"Stupid bitch," Warrack swore, dropping the table and shaking one of his hand - which had two bleeding puncture wounds, "you'd better not be poisonous."

"I sure hope I am," scowled the snakeblood, "seeing you drop dead would be really satisfying right now."

The door to the Drinkin' Lizard flung open, and Arika stepped inside, cautiously holding her sword out in front of her. Both Warrack and the snakeblood turned toward her, the latter letting out a sigh of relief.

"About time one of you showed up," Warrack chuckled, "and its the scrawny one too."

"Who are you calling scrawny?" Arika beamed, pointing her sword at Warrack. "Watch your tongue asshole, or watch me cut it out."

Warrack was taken aback by Arika's remark, he then glanced toward the window at the front of the bar.

"Right," said Arika, "are we going to do this they easy way or the hard way?"

Warrack smirked. "The hard way," he said. Then with a surprising amount of speed, smashed his way through the window.

Arika then turned to the snakeblood. "You okay?" she asked.

The snakeblood leant against one of the few still standing tables. "I'll live," she grunted, obviously in pain.

"But somebody else won't," Arika declared, darting out the door and back onto the street, only to see Warrack zoom past on a large, three-wheeled D-Wheel.

"You never catch me Shadowchaser!" he laughed.

Arika smirked, "I love it when they run." She then race over to her own D-Wheel, quickly pulling her helmet on as she started it up and recklessly pulled out onto the street, narrowly avoiding a collision with a car.

Arika smiled, the thrill of the chase never failed to amaze her, the wind blasting in her face, the roar of the engine, the adrenaline rush caused by weaving amongst dense traffic at high-speed, pursuing a fleeing target who risk their life to get just a few more metres away...

It reminded her how great it was to be alive.

Up ahead, she could see the half-orc's D-Wheel trying (and failing) to work his way around midday traffic. This was an all to obvious (at least for those with average intelligence) problem for larger, less manoeuvrable D-Wheels.

Arika weaved her way through the traffic, her D-Wheel's smaller and lighter design along with her own riding experience allowed her to catch up to her target in no time at all.

"Nice tricycle," Arika smiled, as she pulled up next to Warrack.

"Piss off, bitch," Warrack growled.

"So why'd you do it?" Arika hounded, "attack an innocent Shadowkind?"

"Do I need a reason to attack a snake!" Warrack replied, "you Shadowchasers have done the same."

"We only pursue Shadowkind perceived as threats," she informed, "we don't just chase anything with scales and fangs."

"Tell that to the Ophidians," said Warrack. "This is just discrimination. How do you know that snake didn't attack me?"

"I know her," Arika coldly replied, "she wouldn't do that."

"Discrimination," Warrack growled, "just because half my race is..."

"Don't joke about something like that!" Arika yelled, clearly offended. "You probably don't even know what that word means, let alone just how many have suffered from it."

The two riders rounded a corner at an intersection, taking them onto a wider road.

"So are we going to do this?" Warrack asked.

"Only if you don't wanna pull over and let me cut you to pieces," Arika answered.

"What do you think?" Warrack shouted.

Arika silent hit a button on her computer's monitor, _"__Autopilot__ engaged,_" it beeped.

"Last chance to call it quits," said Arika.

"I ain't quittin'," spat Warrack. "In fact, with my new card, I'm invincible!"

"Whatever you say," Arika rolled her eyes.

"_Requesting permission from city grid,__" _her computer beeped, showing a spinning hourglass, _"__permission granted.__"_

Lights lit up on the road ahead, as cars pulled out of the lane way to leave a clear path for the duelling duo. Both rider's moved further apart, as far as the lane would let them, to give room for the monsters to appear.

"_Activating Speed World 2,__" _her computer hummed, as the iconic Field Spell flashed on her screen.

"Duel!" both Arika and Warrack shouted, hitting their gas pedals and zooming off down Kings Cross Road. The AR Field projecting around their runners. Scorecards, both reading 8000, floated above the two riders.

"I'll start things off," said Arika, snatching the top card from her deck, "with my Ruffian Railcar (1800/1000)!"

A large blue portal opened up behind Arika and a set of train tracks stretched out. Then, a large, heavily armoured freight train pushed forward out of the portal and along the tracks.

"It's going to take a lot more than an angry train to take me down," Warrack grinned.

"My Railcar is much more than some angry train," Arika shot back, "because once per turn, he can slam you with five-hundred points of damage!"

Ruffian Railcar fired a beam from its headlights, dropping his life points to 7500 and causing his bike to wobble.

"Watch it you crazy bitch!" Warrack shouted, as he steadied his ride, "you'll make me crash!"

"Don't you think that's the point," Arika stated, "a crash is considered a forfeit, at least in my book."

Warrack growled. "That's the only way you'd win this duel Shadowchaser, with my new card I'm invincible!"

"You just keep telling yourself that," said Arika, slipping a card in her duel disk, "in the meantime, I'll set a card face down and end my turn."

A reversed card appeared next to Ruffian Railcar, as Arika pulled her D-Wheel next to Warrack's.

"My move," Warrack announced, drawing a card as their Speed Counters clicked up the one, the half-orc then smirked, "I'll start by summoning Playful Possum (800/600)."

A small brown mammal appeared, the creature had a long snout and two beady black eyes, a long, naked tail (obviously, the creature was based of the American opossum, despite its name).

"Uh-oh," Arika gasped, "the only reason anybody would play that card is…"

"That's right," Warrack smirked, as Playful Possum shrieked and shattered, "if you control a monster with more attack than my Possum, he can play dead. Of course he'll be back next turn, but in the meantime…"

Warrack's life points dropped to 6500, as a large black and green furred baboon, covered in heavy wooden armour appeared. The beast wielded a large wooden club in its left hand, which it swung as it snarled at Arika.

"By paying one thousand life points whenever one of my beasts kicks the bucket, I can bring out Green Baboon, Defender of the Forest (2600/1800) from my hand or graveyard."

"Hey look," teased Arika, "he looks just like you."

Both Green Baboon and Warrack scowled, offended by Arika's comment. "You're asking for it bitch. Green Baboon send that train to the scrapheap!"

Green Baboon dashed ahead of the two riders, then leaped onto the ever-extending tracks that Ruffian Railcar travelled on. Railcar then honked its horn and charged at the trespassing baboon.

But before Railcar could ram down Green Baboon, the baboon swung its club and smacked the oncoming train right of the tracks, leaving it to shatter in mid-air.

Arika grumbled something unmentioned under her breath as her life points fell to 7200.

"Ha," laughed Warrack, "looks like I might not need my invincible card to beat you, Shadowchaser. But just in case I'll set these cards face down and end my turn."

Two face down cards appeared behind Green Baboon.

"You just keep flapping your gums pig face," said Arika as a card popped out of her deck. "But since it's the end of a turn where Ruffian Railcar was sent to the graveyard and is still there, I can add a level ten Earth-attribute Machine-Type monster from my deck to my hand."

"Level ten Earth Machines?" said Warrack, "there's not many of those are there?"

"Well not really," admitted Arika, flashing the card to Warrack, "but Snow Plow Hustle Rustle is one of them."

"Like you'll ever summon it," snorted Warrack, as he pulled ahead of Arika.

"We'll see about that," Arika muttered, drawing a card as their Speed Counters climbed to two.

Arika scanned her hand, "not much to play," she muttered, taking two cards from her hand. "I set a monster and a card."

Two face down cards appeared in front of Arika.

"Bah," Warrack blurted out, "is that all you got? I really was expecting someone who threatened to cut me into pieces to actually be able to put up a fight!"

"That offer still stands," Arika scowled, tightening her grip on the handlebars. "Just make your move."

"Whatever you say," said Warrack, drawing a card as both rider's Speed Counters increased to three. "First, since my Playful Possum was destroyed by its own effect, it comes back."

The brown opossum reappeared on the field, letting out a fearful squeak as it laid its eyes on Green Baboon.

"Next, I'll activate Speed Spell - Angel Baton," said Warrack, drawing two cards from his deck, "and if you don't know what this card does then maybe you're the on who should go back riding a tricycle."

"I know what that card does," snapped Arika, pulling up next to Warrack, "just shut up and discard a card already."

"Hold your horses, ya impatient bitch!" Warrack snapped back, sliding one card from his hand into the graveyard. "See there! I discarded a card! Are you happy!"

"Do I look happy!" scowled Arika, narrowing her gaze toward her opponent.

"Um… Uhhr…" Warrack stammered, once more distressed by Arika glare, even when half her face was obscured by her helmet. The half-orc then shook his head, "gotta focus," he muttered, "I summon Lock Cat (1200/1000)!"

In a burst of light, a small white cat appeared on the field, the feline had a large golden lock attached to its collar.

"And let me guess," said Arika, "now you're going to use Lock Cat's effect to revive the monster you just discarded."

Warrack grumbled as a small mouse appeared (not even slightly disturbed by Lock Cat's presence), it squeaked happily and wagged its tail.

"Wow, Key Mouse (100/100)," said Arika in a mocking tone, "didn't expect that."

Warrack growled again, but then his expression changed to a smirk. "It doesn't matter that you predicted my move, because now I tune Key Mouse, Lock Cat and Playful Possum to summon my invincible monster!"

Key Mouse, Lock Cat and Playful Possum flew high into the air. All three monsters dissolved into an intense light, and turned into six shimmering stars.

"Level six Synchros, level six Synchros," Arika mused, trying to guess what monster Warrack was about to summon.

A loud howl pierced through the air, drowning out the roar the D-Wheel engines and midday traffic. Arika looked up to see a figure descend from the light; a humanoid wolf with blue fur, and wore shiny silver armour. But was the most notable thing about this creature was at the end of each arm was a ferocious looking dog head.

"Meet the invincible Celestial Wolf Lord, Blue Sirius (2400/1500)!"

Arika was silent for a few seconds…

Then, much to Warrack's confusion, she burst out laughing, banging her fist against her dashboard.

"That monster…" she laughed, "is your invincible ace? Come on! I've seen better cards in a bargain bin!"

"Take that back you bitch!" snapped Warrack, grinding his teeth in frustration, "the guy who gave me this card said it was on par with the Egyptian Gods!"

Arika burst out laughing again. "You can't be serious, can you?"

"I am!" roared Warrack, seething with anger, "You mean that bastard elf tricked me! When I get my hands on him…"

Warrack then turned his head to face Arika. "But first…" he motioned for Sirius to attack.

Sirius howled, then all three heads released a burst of white-hot flames over Arika's face down monster. Which flipped up to reveal a small robot with gears attached to either side of it, holding two large shields in a futile attempt to protect itself from the flames. After a few seconds, it shattered into pixels.

"What was that thing?" Warrack wondered, then shrugged, "Who cares, it got trashed."

"First," said Arika, "that was my Geargiarmor (1100/1900). And since it was flipped face-up I can add a Geargia monster from deck to my hand." A card stuck out of Arika's deck, which she added it to her hand, "I think Geargiaccelerator is a good choice."

"But it can't protect you from Green Baboon's attack," said Warrack, as Baboon snorted and gripped its club, then charged at the Shadowchaser's D-Wheel.

"_This guy makes a sack of rocks look like a genius,__" _Arika thought as her hand made its way to a card in her hand. "Since you're attacking me directly," she announced, "I activate the effect of Snow Plow Hustle Rustle (2500/3000) in my hand."

Both of Arika's face down cards shattered and a large pile of snow fell between the two riders. Then, a loud siren sounded and a large pink snowplough smashed through the snow.

"When I'm about to be attacked directly while I have no monsters," Arika explained, "I can destroy all my Spell and Trap cards to special summon my Hustle Rustle from my hand."

A pile of snow then hit Warrack in the face, sending his life points down to 6100.

"Oh," Arika added, "you also take two-hundred points of damage for each card that was destroyed by Hustle Rustle." The Shadowchaser then made a draw, "and since of the destroyed cards was my Dummy Marker, I can draw one card!"

Warrack snarled. "Green Baboon," he then spied the virtual panel that displayed Hustle Rustle's defence score - 3000. "Don't attack," he grumbled.

"Doesn't look like your so called _invincible_ card, is really all that invincible after all," Arika giggled, much to Warrack's displeasure.

The half-orc gnashed in teeth together in rage. "When I get my hands on that scrawny little elf…

"But first, I'm going to smash you to pieces. Then I'm going to go back to that bar and burn it to ground!"

That last comment struck Arika's nerve, she gritted her teeth and tightly squeezed the handlebars. "What the hell did that bar or anyone in it ever do to you?" she asked, brimming with rage.

"Hmm," said Warrack, "well last week they refused to serve me a drink, ordered me to leave and when I didn't threatened to call someone from your goody two shoes team. Oh, and fifteen minutes ago that stupid snakeblood bitch bit me!"

"You stay away from there!" yelled Arika. "Mess with me all you want, but you do not touch my favourite place to be in this city!"

"Struck a nerve have I?" Warrack grinned, if Warrack knew one thing it was when someone gets angry, they get reckless. "Hmmm, I might let the owner live long enough to watch the place go up in flames." Warrack then laughed. "Your move, Shadowchaser."

Arika beamed down at her opponent, at this point Warrack would be lucky if he didn't end up a bloody smear on the asphalt.

The Shadowchaser then looked at her Extra Deck. _"__Remember what the boss said, I can__'__t let my anger lead to recklessness,__" _she thought.

"My draw," Arika cold stated, drawing as her and Warrack's Speed Counters rose to four. "I summon Night Express Knight (3000/3000)!"

Another set of tracks appeared out of portal as the sound of whistle sounded. Sure enough, pushing forward along the track was a new monster that was, oddly enough, a white knight in shining gold armour, armed with a lance and a shield, which was bolted at the waist to a train engine.

"Three thousand attack!" Warrack screamed, "on a monster you can summon with no tributes?"

"I can summon Night Express Knight with out sacrificing any monsters," said Arika, "but in exchange its attack drops to zero."

A black aura appeared around the odd train. (ATK:3000-0)

"Well what's the use of that then?" Warrack asked, "at least when you do that Beast King Barbaros it still has nineteen-hundred attack."

"You do realise that my monsters are both level ten right?" Arika asked.

"Uh-oh," gasped Warrack.

"I construct the overlay network with my level ten Hustle Rustle and Night Express Knight!" chanted Arika.

Both Hustle Rustle and Night Express Knight were absorbed into a large crimson portal that opened up between the two riders. Three separate sets of tracks then extended out from the portal, stretching down the road. The ear-piercing sound of scraping metal screeched through the air, as three engines chugged along the tracks, carrying a load that resembled an oversized, dark-green cube.

"What the hell is that thing?" Warrack shouted, almost on the verge of panic.

"That thing is Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Gustav Max (3000/3000)!" said Arika, "and its every bit as powerful as its name is long! Because once a turn, by detaching a Xyz material from my monster, it slams you with two thousand points of damage!"

"Two thousand!" Warrack cried, "that's… that's…"

But Warrack's cries were drowned by the sound of scraping metal as Gustav Max unfolded itself. Revealing a long, slim barrel pointed directly at Warrack.

Then Gustav Max fired, hitting Warrack in the face and sending up a large cloud of black soot. Warrack's life points plummeted from 6100 to 4100.

"Who cares what my teammates say," Arika smiled, "blowing things up is therapeutic. That really blew off some steam."

Warrack's D-Wheel rolled out of the soot cloud. The half-orc had a dazed look on his face, but quickly shook it off. "You'll pay for that you bitch!"

"That's what they all say," said Arika as she played another card. "Since I have four Speed Counters, I can activate Speed Spell - Summon Speeder and special summon Geargiano (500/1000) from my hand!"

The Speed Spell flashed in front of her D-Wheel. In a flash of light a strange creature appeared, it appeared to be made out of several small red and green gears, wedged between two larger silver gears with two small eyes and two arms on either side.

"That thing wouldn't last a second against one of my monsters," Warrack growled.

"Well I better trade him in for something a little stronger," said Arika as Geargiano disappeared, "by sacrificing himself, Geargiano can revive a level four Machine-type monster, like Geargiarmor."

Geargiamor rose out of a black portal, positioning its shield into a defensive position.

"Wasting two cards to get out a monster that'll be crushed in no time flat," Warrack grinned.

"I'm not done yet," said Arika, playing yet another card. "Since I have a Geargia monster out I can special summon Geargiaccelerator (1400/800) from my hand."

A blue and yellow race car sped up alongside Arika's D-Wheel, the driver of the happened to be another Geargiano.

"Two level fours…" muttered Warrack.

"How'd you guess?" Arika smirked as two vehicles compressed into orange forms of energy, then flew into a crimson portal that opened up on the road. "I overlay my two level fours Machine-type monsters!

"Let's roll, Gear Gigant X (2300/1500)!"

A silver, metal fist emerged from the portal, gripping its edge. Then the rest of the machine burst out of the portal. It was more humanoid and heavily armoured compared to the other Geargias, with several gears attached to various parts of its body. The machine's eyes glowed bright red from behind its blue vizor.

"That thing might look impressive," said Warrack, "but its just a pipsqueak in terms of attack!"

"Attack isn't everything you know," said Arika, as Gear Gigant X absorbed one of the two orbs floating around it. "Once per turn, by using one of Gigant X's Xyz materials, I can take a level four or lower Machine-type monster from my deck or graveyard and add it to my hand."

"Search for all the cards you want," said Warrack, "not a single one will prevent you from losing."

A card slipped out of Arika's deck, the Shadowchaser flashed the card - Geargiano Mk-II - to her opponent. "You know," she replied, "you're pretty confident for somebody going up against two three-thousand attack monsters."

"Wait two monsters?" gasped Warrack.

"Yep," said Arika, pulling a card out of her graveyard, "by banishing Skill Successor from my graveyard, I can raise Gear Gigant X's attack by eight hundred this turn!"

A blazing red aura appeared around the mechanical Xyz. (ATK:2300-3100)

"Uh-oh…" Warrack gulped.

"Gear Gigant X, smash that baboon!" ordered Arika.

Gear Gigant X fired a red beam from its eyes hitting Green Baboon. The beast screeched as the beams electrocuted it, then shattered into a million pixels. Warrack's life points fell to 3600.

Warrack snarled, as one of his face down cards flipped and a golden aura appeared around him, bringing his life points back up to 6200.

"What?" Arika yelled, "you're life points are supposed to go down, not up!"

"They only went up because of my Option Hunter," said Warrack, "which recovers life points equal to attack power of a monster that was destroyed by…"

Warrack's explanation was cut off by a large explosion an pieces of Sirius' armour flew past his face, his life points dropped to 5600.

"You know, you should really keep focused," Arika smirked, as smoke drifted out of Gustav Max's barrel.

Warrack smirked, as thick, black smoke poured out of Gustav Max. "Since you were dumb enough to destroy Blue Sirius, I can reduce one of your monster's attack by twenty four-hundred!"

Explosions erupted throughout Gustav Max, even more black smoke then began to pour out of the cannon. (ATK:3000-600)

"Yeah, I knew that was gonna happen," said Arika, "but I suppose it's better than letting that wolf run over my monsters."

"Is it?" Warrack grinned, as his other Trap Card activated, "I activate Call of the Haunted, guess who's coming back."

The Trap flashed, and Blue Sirius leaped back onto the road, all three of its head howling.

"Damn it!" Arika swore, banging her fist against the dashboard, "I thought I saw the last of that bastard." She then looked at the three remaining cards in her hand; Geargiarsenal, Geargiano Mk-II and Lionhearted Locomotive. "I end my turn here."

The aura around Gear Gigant X disappeared. (ATK:3100-2300)

"Ha!"Warrack laughed, making a draw as their Speed Counters jumped to five. "Sirius wipe out Gustav Max, before it can shoot me again!"

Once again the Beast-Warrior howled then breathed white-hot flames on Gustav Max. The cannon creaked and groaned as parts of it melted. It then shattered as Arika's life points took a rather large hit, dropping to 5400.

"Damn it," she swore, trying her best not to spin out from the force of the attack.

Warrack grinned even wider than before. "This is all you've got Shadowchaser?" he mocked, "I've seen prissy little elves that put more a fight, but hey, what could you expect from a _half caste _bitch like you."

That was it, Warrack had pressed far too many of Arika's buttons; attacking her friends, trashing her favourite bar and insulting her heritage. This guy had crossed the line by a _long _shot.

Warrack looked at his opponent, she looked like she was about to explode. A self-satisfied grin the planted itself on his face, because if Warrack knew one thing (and probably _only _that one thing), it was that when someone got angry, they got reckless.

Experience was a magnificent teacher.

"I set a monster and a card," he said, as the two cards appeared over the road, "then I'll wrap up my turn."

The Shadowchaser then looked down at her Extra Deck, then took a deep breath. _"__Remember what the boss said,__" _she thought, _"__anger can lead down a dangerous path. Gotta beat the snot of this bastard, just__… __calmly.__"_

"My move," Arika calmly stated as her and Warrack's Speed Counters increased to six. "I'll start by activating a familiar card, Speed Spell - Angel Baton. You don't need a refresher?" she asked, drawing two cards and sliding Geargiarsenal into her graveyard.

"_These two cards are pretty powerful,__" _thought Arika, _"__I better save my combo for next turn__…"_

"I'm getting tired of waiting Shadowchaser," growled Warrack, "play something!"

"Hold your horses," said Arika, as Gear Gigant X absorbed its final Xyz material, "I use my monster's effect to add Heavy Mech Support Platform to my hand." She flashed the card to Warrack, "and I'll give you a guess what I'm going to summon."

A black and red gunship appeared over the field, energy crackled between two large prongs that stuck out of the machine's hull.

"Of all the cards you could've picked," Warrack laughed, "you pick that one."

But then, Heavy Mech Support Platform transformed and began to attach itself to Gear Gigant X, becoming a jetpack-like device on the larger machine's back.

"What the hell is going on?" Warrack asked.

"Don't you know what a Union monster is you moron?" Arika scoffed, "they're monsters that can equip itself to another monster. And any monster that is equipped with Heavy Mech Support Platform gains five-hundred attack and defence."

Electricity cracked throughout Gear Gigant X's body (2300-2800/1500-2000)

"Now then, Gear Gigant X," Arika commanded, "do what you do best!"

Assisted by the Union monster equipped to it, Gear Gigant X raced forward toward Sirius.

"HA!" Warrack yelled, as another Trap flipped up, "you fell for my trap! Go, Horn of the Phantom Beast! First this card raises Sirius' attack power by eight-hundred!"

A red aura appeared around around Sirius which spread into its armour, giving the Beats-Warrior a demonic glow. (ATK:2400-3200)

"Shit, shit, shit," Arika swore, as Sirius covered Gear Gigant X in white hot flames from its mouths. A large explosion erupted from Gear Gigant X, as Arika's life points dropped to 5000.

"And since it destroyed a monster by battle," Warrack added, "my Trap Card lets me draw one…"

But then the smoke from the explosion blew away, revealing that Gear Gigant X was still standing, at least with several scorch marks on its armour and missing Heavy Mech Support Platform.

"How?" Warrack shouted brimming with rage.

"Simple," Arika replied, "if a monster equipped with a Union monster would be destroyed, the Union monster can take the hit instead, of course without his support…"

Gear Gigant X's power dropped. (2800-2300/2000-1500)

"Ah, so what," Warrack grumbled, "I'll just finish it off on my turn!"

"You do that," said Arika, setting the two cards onto her desk, causing them to flash into existence over the road, "I end my turn with those two face down cards."

"It's my move!" Warrack announced, gleefully drawing a card as the two rider's Speed Counters hit seven. "I'll start by flip summoning my facedown Bubonic Vermin (900/600)!"

Warrack's face down monster flipped up, revealing a strange orange-furred rodent.

"I'm not afraid of an overgrown guinea pig," said Arika.

"That's okay," said Warrack, "because when this guy is flipped I can summon another from my deck in face down defence position."

A facedown monster appeared alongside Bubonic Vermin.

"And now I tribute both my Vermin…"

The face-up and facedown rodents disappeared.

"To summon Behemoth the King of All Animals (2700/1500)!"

Only to be replaced by a massive beast that ran alongside Warrack's D-Wheel. It's muscular body had pink skin and purple mane. Its head had large sharp horns, sharp teeth that dripped with saliva and glowing eyes.

"Anybody got a giant squeaky toy?" Arika joked, as Behemoth and Sirius howled.

The Playful Possum and Lock Cat cards then slid out of Warrack's graveyard, the half-orc adding them to his hand. 'I think I should let you know," he said, "is that when Behemoth is tribute summoned, I can add Beast monsters from my graveyard to my hand equal to the number of monsters used as tributes!"

"I'm not impressed," Arika flatly stated.

"The be impressed by the is!" Warrack ordered, "Sirius, melt that glorified tin can!"

The celestial wolf readied itself to breath another blast of fire.

"Hold it!" said Arika, as one of her set Traps flipped up, "I activate Cyber Summon Blaster!"

A nasty mechanical cannon materialised beside Arika, floating precariously above the road.

"We're not afraid of some oversized satellite dish!" shouted Warrack as Sirius breathed fire over Gear Gigant X, quickly melting the mecha until it shattered.

Arika's D-Wheel wobbled as her life points fell to 4100.

"_Now_ I can draw a card!" said Warrack, doing so.

But then, in a burst of light, Geargiano appeared from the Xyz's remains. The gear creature took one look at Sirius and Behemoth before squeaking and covering its eyes.

Cyber Summon Blaster then lit up and fired at Warrack, zapping the half-orc and causing his life points to drop to 5300.

"Ouch," Warrack grumbled, "Behemoth, smack that thing."

Behemoth swatted Geargiano with its paw, sending the machine bouncing the down the highway.

"Bahaha," Warrack laughed as Geargiano shattered on the ninth bounce, "You're next bitch!"

"I doubt that," said Arika as her other Trap flipped up, "because with Xyz Reborn I can can summon an Xyz monster from my graveyard."

A large black portal opened up, and three sets of stretched out.

"Aw, bloody hell," Warrack swore, "not this shit again!"

The three engines that carried Gustav Max chugged out of the portal, the cannon quickly unfolded an aimed at Warrack.

"Oh and just so you know," Arika added, as a shining sphere floated around Gustav Max, "Xyz Reborn then attaches itself to the summoned monster."

Then Cyber Summon Blaster then shocked Warrack, dropping his life points to 5000.

Warrack grimaced at the though of taking another blast from Gustav Max. "I set one card face down and end my turn," he said as the set card appeared under his monsters.

"Good," said Arika snatching up the top card of he deck as the duellists Speed Counters clicked over to eight. "Gustav Max you know what to do!"

Gustav Max loaded another shell, fixing its aim on Warrack.

"Shit, this is gonna hurt," Warrack cringed.

Gustav Max fired another shell, hitting Warrack dead on and throwing up another thick, black cloud.

Warrack coughed as his D-Wheel rolled out of the cloud, his life points dropping from 5000 to 3000. "Stupid bitch," he mumbled.

"Next I'll bring out Geargiano Mk-II (1000/500)!" Arika announced.

In another flash of light another gear creature appeared, it was similar in to Geargiano in all but colour, being constructed out of small dark red and blue gears wedged between a larger golden set.

"Ha!" Warrack laughed, "and what's this pipsqueak do, shit itself?"

Geargiano Mk-II squeaked in fear.

"You should underestimate weaker monsters," said Arika, "especially considering you've used several monsters with lower attack than this guy. And for your information when this 'pipsqueak' is normal summoned, I can special summon another Geargia monster from my hand or graveyard, like Geargiarsenal (1500/500)."

Another machine (piloted by another machine) appeared. It appeared to be a colourful tank, with two claw-like arms and four cannons attached to it. The tank then crossed its arms over itself, taking up a defensive position.

Cyber Summon Blaster then fired again, knocking Warrack's life points down to 2700.

"Next," said Arika, "I'll tribute my Geargiarsenal to use its special ability!"

Geargiarsenal disappeared in a trail of golden sparkles, as a third Geargiano monster appeared on the field. This creature was constructed out of green and gold gears wedged between two larger blue gears.

Cyber Summon Blaster zapped Warrack once more, dropping his life points to 2400 and causing the half-orc to cry out in pain.

"And now," Arika continued, "since Geargiano Mk-III (1000/1000) was special summoned by the effect of a Geargia card, I can special summon another Geargia monster from my hand or graveyard."

In another flash, Geargiano joined its newer models. The three gears then hunched together and began to a game of play rock, paper, scissors. Mk-III played paper, Mk-II played scissors and the original Geargiano played rock. All three of them then stared blankly at each other, confused about how to decided the outcome.

Then Mk-III jabbed Mk-II in its eyes with its fingers.

"So you've gathered the three stooges," said Warrack, "I'm not afraid of them." He then cried out as Cyber Summon Blaster fired at him again, dropping his life points to 2100.

"They may not be frightening," said Arika, as the three Geargiano's turned into energy forms, "but they're all level three."

A red portal appeared, rivalling the one Gustav Max appeared through in size, appeared behind Arika, the three energy forms raced inside.

"Standing fourteen metres tall and weighing in a forty-five metric tons," Arika announced. "Ladies and savage beasts, I present to you Geargiagear XG (2500/1300)!"

Then a large huge stepped out of the portal, true to Arika's words, it stood fourteen metres tall. The machine was heavily armoured and wielded a large, gear-shaped shield and a large blaster.

"That thing is huge," Warrack gasped, then regained his composure, "but it only has twenty-five hundred attack. Cyber Summon Blaster zapped him one more time, his life points dropping to 1800.

"That's it!" Warrack fired, "I activate my facedown card, Destruct Potion, so by destroying my Behemoth…"

The giant pink beast shattered like glass.

"I gain life points equal to its attack points," he said, life points rising to 4500, then falling to 3500.

"And since a Beast was destroyed," Warrack added, as Green Baboon reappeared on the field. The primate roaring, slinging its club over its shoulder.

"That was a really dumb move," said Arika, "You've cost yourself more than half the life points you just gained! Gustav Max, blow that monkey away!"

Gustav Max pointed its barrel at Green Baboon. The monkey could only shriek in terror as the cannon fired another blast, blowing it into pixels.

Warrack's bike wobbled as his life points dropped to 3100. "Yeah but at least my monster is stronger!"

"Not for long!" Arika replied, "Geargiagear XG, lets take out Sirius! Gigant Rifle!"

Geargiagear XG pointed its blaster at Sirius, the celestial wolf grinned happy to see another victim.

"Now I activate my monster's ability," Arika declared, as Geargiagear XG grabbed a large red gear on its waist with its free hand. "By using up one of his Xyz materials, whenever a Machine-type monster battles; until the battle is over, you can't activate any card effects and the effects of all face-up cards you currently control are negated!"

"What!" Warrack gasped, "that kind of an effect on Rank three!"

"Heh," Arika smiled, "this card is the strongest Rank three in the game right now, attack wise at least."

Geargiagear XG threw the red gear, which broke apart in mid-air, showering Warrack's cards in a red mist. Both Sirius and the Horn of the Phantom Beast Trap crackled with electricity and dimmed. (ATK:3200-2400)

Geargiagear XG then fired its blaster, striking Sirius in the chest. The Beast-Warrior roared in pain and staggered back, then shattered like glass.

Warrack's life points fell to 3000. "Heh," he smirked, "it's not a total loss. Since Sirius was destroyed…"

Smoke poured out of Gustav Max, as the cannon shook and groaned. (ATK:3000-600)

"I end my turn," said Arika, looking down at the two cards in her hand; Lionhearted Locomotive and a second Geargiarmor.

"My move," Warrack growled, drawing as the Speed Counters rose to nine apiece. "I'll summon Playful Possum again."

The brown rodent appeared on the field.

"You know what happens next," said Warrack as Playful Possum squeaked and fell over.

"Just summon the monkey," sighed Arika.

"Yeah, yeah," said Warrack, his life points dropping to 2000, as Green Baboon reappeared, snorting and swinging around its club.

"Let's go for round two," Warrack smirked, as Green Baboon screeched, then dashed at Gustav Max smacking the cannon's barrel and causing it to shake.

Gustav Max then began to fall apart, pieces of the canon left behind as the duel continued forwards. Another explosion ripped through the cannon before it finally shattered.

Arika's D-Wheel wobbled as her life points fell to 2100.

"Not much longer, bitch!" Warrack laughed, his brutish D-Wheel decelerated and fell behind. "Next, I'll spend seven Speed Counters to draw a card!" The half-orc made a draw, then slid two cards on his duel disk, causing them to appear over the road. "I'll end my turn with these two cards."

"_Heh,__" _Warrack thought, _"__between my Prideful Roar and Roaring Earth Trap Cards there__'__s no way she__'__ll win.__"_

"My move!" Arika declared, tearing the top card from her deck, her Speed Counters then rose to ten and Warrack's to three.

Arika then smirked. _"__I could just blow up his Baboon with Speed World,__" _she thought, _"__but I have an idea that__'__d be more fun__…"_

"I summon Lionhearted Locomotive (2400/2100)!"

Another portal appeared along the road, and another set of tracks stretched out. The screech of another train whistle sounded, as a green steam engine chugged along the tracks.

"Twenty-four hundred attack on a level four!" Warrack gasped.

"Relax," said Arika, "Lionhearted Locomotive has drawbacks, like if I ever attack with it I have to cut its attack in half first.

"But then again, its probably not the card you should be worried about," Arika continued, turning around another card in her hand. "I activate Speed Spell - Speed Energy! This card gives the big guy here two hundred extra attack for every Speed Counter I have.

"Now how many Speed Counters do I have again?"

"Oh, shit!" Warrack gasped, as Geargiagear XG gained a golden aura. (ATK:2500-4500)

"Let's end this guys," commanded Arika, "Geargiagear XG! Gigant Cross Spin!"

The Machine Xyz aimed its blaster at Green Baboon.

"And don't forget his effect," she added, the Xyz grabbing another red gear and throwing it over Warrack's field. The second gear then broke apart, showering Warrack's card in a red mist and causing them to dim.

Geargiagear then fired, blowing Green Baboon to smithereens.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Warrack gulped, his D-Wheel rocking violently as his life points plummeted to a measly 100.

"Now finish it off Lionhearted Locomotive!"

Lionhearted Locomotive hits brakes, hard, falling far behind the duel. (ATK:2400-1200)

"Bah," Warrack scoffed, "not even virtual trains can run on time!"

But Warrack's joke was cut short by the sound of a whistle. The half-orc turned to see Lionhearted Locomotive approaching, fast.

But the thing that really made Warrack panic was the fact that there was now a set of tracks right under his D-Wheel.

"What the fuck?" Warrack panicked, turning his D-Wheel in a desperate attempt to avoid the oncoming train, but no matter which way he turned, the tracks twisted to follow him.

Warrack looked back one more time, seeing that Lionhearted Locomotive was right behind him, seconds away from ramming his D-Wheel.

He decided to bail, jumping from the D-Wheel, rolling when he hit the road.

Orc's were known for their ability to tolerate pain, and that trait was usually passed down to their offspring. But then again, bailing out of a high-speed vehicle was _very _painful. "Ouch," Warrack weakly groaned, collapsing face down.

Lionhearted Locomotive slammed into the back of Warrack's D-Wheel, knocking it to the side. The last sliver of Warrack's life points drained away to 0.

A loud horn screeched through the air, smoke poured from the abandoned D-Wheel as it ground to a halt. The AR field receded as Cyber Summon Blaster, Lionhearted Locomotive, Geargiagear XG and Warrack's two face-down cards disappeared.

Arika pulled up next to where Warrack had landed and dismounted her D-Wheel.

"Go away," Warrack grizzled, as Arika drew her sword.

The Shadowchaser pointed her sword right between Warrack's eyes, the two then exchanged piercing glares, waiting for the other to make a move.

"If I ever see you again," she said, gently pushing her sword forward so that the tip poked Warrack between the eyes. "Mercy is going to be out of the question." She then tore the sword away from Warrack and sheathed it, then marched back to her D-Wheel.

"Aren't you gonna arrest me?" Warrack asked, almost daring Arika to do it.

"Sending you to gaol would be mercy," Arika answered, not even bothering to turn around, "and someone as pathetic as you doesn't deserve any more than you've already been given."

Warrack balled his hand into a fist as he watched Arika restart her ride and take off down the road. "You're gonna regret this, bitch!" he spat.

**0 - 0 KK 0 - 0**

A few minutes later, Arika walked through the door of the Drinkin' Lizard. She looked around and saw a few Shadowkind cleaning up the area, but the one thing that caught her attention was the snakeblood woman sitting at a table, holding an ice pack to her face.

The snakeblood's name was Merinda, she was also the owner of the Drinkin' Lizard bar.

Arika approached the snakeblood. "You alright, girl?" she asked taking a seat at the table.

"I'll live," Merinda replied, cringing in pain as she moved the ice pack (being cold blooded definitely didn't help). "Thanks, I owe you big time for what you did."

"Don't worry about it," Arika replied, "it's what I do."

"Good," Merinda replied, "I didn't want to have to give one my best customer free drinks."

"What!" Arika complained in a childlike fashion, "I take it back, I want a reward!"

"Too bad," teased Merinda, sticking out her long forked tongue.

Arika made a few frustrated sounding noises. "Aww, come on," she begged, "be cool."

"I am cool," said Merinda, "I'm cold blooded."

"Not remotely what I meant," answered Arika.

"Don't you have your boss pay for drinks anyway?"

"Yes… Umm…" Arika stammered, "Well… Umm…"

Merinda gave Arika an amused look, half-expecting smoke to come pouring out her ears. "Well if you want free drinks," she offered, "you can help clean this place up. That bastard trashed this place pretty bad."

"Why he do it?" Arika asked, "you didn't do anything to piss him off first did you?"

"No," Merinda sighed, "he just came in, ordered a few drinks and just sat in the corner for a half hour. Then he just got up flipped the table. We told him to leave and…"

"I get the point," said Arika. "He's an asshole. But don't worry, he won't come back here if he knows what's good for him."

"You didn't arrest him?" Merinda gasped.

"Your own little room and three meals a day," Arika replied, "someone like him doesn't deserve something like that.

"Nah," Arika replied, stepping up out of her seat, "as much as I'd like to help, I've got to head home and get ready for tonight." Arika then headed toward the door.

"What's happening tonight?" Merinda questioned, "or are you just trying to avoid real work?"

"I've got a date tonight, my boyfriend's taking me out," shaw answered, winking to Merinda as she stepped out the door.

**0 - 0 KK 0 - 0**

**Card Database**

Speed World 2  
Field Spell  
If a player activates a non-"Speed Spell" Spell Card, they take 2000 damage. Except during the first turn, during each player's Standby Phase, each player places 1 Speed Counter on their own copy of this card (max. 12 each). You can remove any number of your Speed Counters from this card to activate the appropriate effect:  
4: Reveal any number of "Speed Spells" Spell Cards in your hand, and inflict 800 damage to your opponent for each card revealed.  
7: Draw 1 card.  
10: Destroy 1 card on the field.

_This card first appeared in episode 65 of Yu-Gi-Oh 5D__'__s __"__A New Threat__"__, creative credit goes to the writers of that episode._

Speed Spell - Summon Speeder  
Speed Spell  
Activate only if you have 4 or more Speed Counters; Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower monster from your hand, it cannot attack this turn.

_This card was first used in episode 17 of Yu-Gi-Oh 5D__'__s __"__Flame Revenger: Speed King Skull Flame__"__. Creative Credit goes to the writers of that episode._

Speed Spell - Angel Baton  
Speed Spell  
Activate only if you have 2 or more Speed Counters; Draw 2 cards, the Discard 1 card.

Speed Spell - Speed Energy  
Speed Spell  
Activate when you have 2 or more Speed Counters. Select 1 face-up monster; it gains 200 ATK for each Speed Counter you have, until the End Phase.

_The previous two cards were first used by Yusei Fudo in the OVA __"__Evolving Duel! Stardust Dragon VS Red Dragon Archfiend__"__. Creative credit goes to the writers._

Dummy Marker  
Normal Trap Card  
When this set card you control is destroyed, draw 1 card. If this set card was destroyed by the effect of an opponent' Spell Card, draw 1 more card.

_This card was first used by Judai in episode 130 of Yu-Gi-Oh GX __"__Rainbow Dragon__'__s Awakening__"__. Creative Credit goes to the writers of that episode._

Ruffian Railcar  
Machine/Earth/Effect/Level:4/ATK:1800/DEF:1000  
Once per turn: You can inflict 500 damage to your opponent. You cannot conduct your Battle Phase the turn you activate this effect. During the End Phase, if this card is in your Graveyard because it was sent there this turn: You can add 1 Level 10 EARTH Machine-Type monster from your deck to your hand. You can only use this effect of "Ruffian Railcar" once per turn.

Ruffian Railcar was released along with the "Yu-Gi-Oh ZeXal! Clash! Duel Carnival! Strategy Guide" and is currently only available in Japan.

Geargiano Mk-III  
Machine/Earth/Effect/Level:3/ATK:1000/DEF:1000  
When this card is Special Summoned by the effect of a "Geargia" card: You can Special Summon 1 "Geargia" monster except "Geargiano Mk-III" in face-up defence position from your hand or Graveyard, but its effects are negated. The effect of "Geargiano Mk-III" can only be used once per turn. You can only Special Summon "Geargia" monsters the turn in which you activate this effect.

Geargiagear XG  
Machine/Xyz/Earth/Effect/Rank:3/ATK:2500/DEF:1300  
3 Level 3 Monsters.  
During either player's Battle Step, while an attack involving a Machine-Type monster you control is occurring: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; negate the effects of all face-up cards your opponent currently control, also your opponent cannot activates cards or effects. When this card leaves the field: You can target 1 other "Geargia" card in your graveyard, add that target to your hand.

_The previous two cards were released in __"__Duellist Set - Machine Gear Troopers__" __and are going to be realised worldwide in the Geargia Rampage structure deck due out in October. _

**0 - 0 KK 0 - 0**

**Kitten Knight: **And so the second member of the Sydney make her debut.

Next time, we meet the final members of the Sydney Shadowchasers… Wait, _members__… _That means there's more than one. Wanna find out why? Then tune in for the Round 04...

Actually, on second thought, I might let the title be a surprise.


End file.
